


Every Moment

by Bobo_is_tha_Bomb



Series: Ever After series [3]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Lemon, Lime, Reader Insert, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:28:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 71,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23153275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bobo_is_tha_Bomb/pseuds/Bobo_is_tha_Bomb
Summary: You really didn’t want to go on a mission with Heero Yuy. In your opinion, he was a robot, an iceberg, and as cold as the North Pole. And you really hated the fact that people started spreading rumors about you. Now, you have two weeks to get to know him better, get comfortable with the idea of playing his wife, and keep from getting into a catfight with Wufei’s secretary (who has quite a crush on Mister Yuy herself). You thought you would be able to handle the mission, but a couple of alcohol influenced kisses really send your world spinning. And it would only get worse during the mission… And really… your careless actions do have very big consequences. HeeroxReader
Relationships: Heero Yuy/Reader
Series: Ever After series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1373911
Comments: 14
Kudos: 8





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> TIME FOR MOAR HEERO GOODNESS! 
> 
> LOL. I guess everybody now realizes what a muse he is to me. And I still got quite some stories about him to post. Anyway... This story is part of the Ever After series, and it still is, in my opinion, the best story I’ve ever written. I just love it so much, and I’m happy that I finally get to post it!
> 
> I hope you will enjoy this story! :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing, its characters, or you.

**Every Moment  
Part 1**

_Starbucks, Brussels, AC 203_

“You won’t believe it!” you exclaimed, while rushing over to the table at which your friends were seated.

“We won’t believe what?” Michelle asked, while pushing back a chair for you.

You sat down heavily and dumped your bag next to your chair. “I am going on a mission!” 

“Really?” Sam grinned at you. “That’s awesome!”

“With Heero Yuy!” You gave her a desperate look.

“Not so awesome,” Sam said.

“And we have to pretend that we are a couple! A just married couple!” 

Michelle choked on her coffee. “What?!? Couldn’t they have asked someone else for that mission? Someone who at least knows how to smile?” 

“My thoughts exactly!” you said, while gesturing with your hands. “I mean… Heero Yuy has no feelings! He is like a robot. I bet that if you’d cut him open, you would only find wires and metal!”

“But he is sexy…” Sam said with a dreamy sigh. 

“He scares the crap out of me!” you whined. “He has this scary look.”

“Duo calls it the look of doom.” Michelle said with a giggle.

“No, he calls it the _‘death glare’_ ,” you pointed out. “I don’t wanna go!” 

“I think Une will fry you if you don’t go,” Sam said, while leaning back in her chair. “What did Heero say about the mission?” 

“He just shrugged and said _‘okay’_!” You pouted and crossed your arms over your chest. “He doesn’t care about what he does, as long as he completes his missions.” 

“Consider yourself lucky that you’re going with Heero, though.” Sam said soothingly. “If you had to go with Mister I-have-a-stick-up-my-ass Chang it would have been far worse. And I know what I’m talking about.” 

“Right…” You gave her a sympathetic look. 

Sam had gone on a mission with Wufei once, and afterwards she had told you he had been complaining about her non-stop. You probably wouldn’t have that trouble with Heero. Or at least… you hoped so. 

You sighed. “What am I gonna do?” 

“Where exactly are you going?” Michelle asked. 

“You’re not going to believe it.” 

“Tell us anyway.” Sam grinned at you.

“Mexico.” 

“WHAT?!??” Michelle exclaimed, earning surprised stares from other people in the cafe, “There is no way they can call that a mission!” 

“No, we’re supposed to be on a pretended honeymoon! We have to observe a tourist area. There are rumors about people disappearing from it for a couple of months now,” you explained.

“You’re going to be lazy all day, lie on the beach next to Heero-sexy-Yuy, who will be shirtless and yummy looking, and you dare to complain?!?” Michelle leaned forward. “You’re insane!” 

“Hell no, I’m not!” You scowled. “You try looking like husband and wife with an iceberg!” 

“Oh, I would grab my chance and try to seduce him,” Michelle said with an evil grin. “I bet that under that cool exterior is a beast!” 

You clamped your hands over your ears. “Shut up! I don’t even want to think about him in that way!” 

“You can’t back out of a mission like that,” Sam said, while wrapping her fingers around her cup. She took a sip. “You’ll be court-martialed.” 

“I know!” You sighed and glanced up as a waitress came to take your order. You asked for a cup of tea and continued when she had left. “I have to go… And I need to go shopping.” 

“Now that is something we can help you with.” Michelle grinned. “We’ll make sure you’ll buy _La Perla_.” 

You rolled your eyes. “I’m not going to seduce him.” 

“Just make sure you buy some anyway.” Sam joined Michelle in the conspiracy. “You’ll also need bikinis and summer dresses.” 

“And shoes…” you said. “I need shoes!” 

“Alright.” Michelle, always the practical one, dug out her agenda from her bag. “When do you have to leave?” 

“Two weeks from now,” you said.

“Let’s go shopping on Saturday.” She marked it down in her agenda. 

“Sure.”

The waitress placed a cup of tea in front of you, and with a grateful sigh you took a sip.

“I bet you’ll have to talk to him about the mission a couple of times,” Sam said. 

You nodded. “He wants it all planned out.” 

“I bet he does.” Sam grinned. “That’s Heero Yuy to the bone. He wants everything to go as he planned it to go.” 

“Until it doesn’t and he gets blown up again,” Michelle said. “You might wanna run in case that happens.” 

You glared at her. “Not funny. He also wants to work out with me, so he can see what my skills are.”

“Hmm…” Michelle’s smile became sly, very, very sly. “I would love to see him work out.” 

“How long will you be gone?” Sam asked. 

“Three weeks.” You rubbed a hand over your forehead. “Three frigging weeks with Heero Yuy. I hope I’m going to survive it.” 

“Relax, -Y/N-.” Sam patted your hand. “You’ll be fine.” 

“I hope so.” 

-x-x-x-

Your stomach contracted with nerves as you raised your hand to knock on the closed door. You really didn’t want to do this. 

“Are you ever going to knock, or are you going to keep on standing there?” Duo’s voice sounded behind you and you jumped in fright.

You whirled around to glare at him. “Duo!” 

He grinned at you. “Nice seeing you again, Babe.”

“What are you doing here?” you asked him with suspicion lacing your tone. “Your office is on the other side of the building.” 

“I was just on my way there.” His grin told you he was lying through his teeth. 

“You’re spying on me.” you exclaimed. “I bet Michelle put you up to this!” 

“She didn’t,” Duo said soothingly. “But she did tell me a very curious story.” 

You scowled. “About what?” 

“Something about Heero and _La Perla_ , whatever that may be.” 

You blushed furiously and gave him a shove in the direction of the elevator. “You can tell her I will strangle her with _La Perla_.” 

Duo grinned. “I’ll tell her that.” 

You sighed and turned back to the door of Heero’s office. You jumped back as it suddenly opened and Heero peered out. 

“I’m sorry!” you said quickly. “I was about to knock.” 

“I thought I heard Duo.” Heero’s voice was monotone and his face showed no indication of any emotion.

“He just left.” 

“Hn.” 

“I came to talk to you. About the work out.” 

He stepped back to let you into his office. Where your office was cluttered with files and papers, Heero’s was very neat. There wasn’t a thing out of place. He pulled a chair over for you and you sat down in front of his desk. Heero sat down in his office chair and leaned back while crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

You swallowed before speaking up. “I ah…” 

“The work out,” he reminded you.

“Yes. What exactly are you planning?” you asked. 

“I want to know what you can do and see if you need any additional training,” he said. 

“Sure. When do you want to start?” you asked. 

“How about today? Three sharp.” 

“Sure.” You got up. “I’ll be there.” 

“Good.” 

You made your way to the door. 

“-Y/N-?” he called you back.

You rested your hand on the doorknob and turned your head to look at him. “Yes?” 

“We’ll talk about the mission afterwards.” 

“Alright.” 

You quickly left his office and closed the door behind you. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. When you opened them again, you found Duo grinning at you from the other side of the hallway.

“What are you still doing here?” you hissed.

“How about lunch?” he asked.

“Your treat,” you said, while walking past him. 

“Sure thing.” Duo’s grin widened.

He walked after you towards the elevator. “You’re getting a temporary office on this floor.” 

“Err…” you frowned in confusion. “Is that really necessary?” 

“Apparently Heero thinks so.” Duo shrugged. 

“Hmm…” 

The elevator doors opened and you stepped inside. 

“Are you worried about this mission?” Duo asked when the doors closed.

You blinked as a hand suddenly shot between the almost closed doors. The doors slid open again, revealing Heero who calmly stepped into elevator as well. Duo gave you a questioning look, which you ignored. 

“-Y/N-?” 

“Maybe a little.” you said. “Let’s talk about this later.” 

“Sure.” Duo understood the hint. 

You watched Heero, noticing the way his shoulders squared as he felt your eyes on him. He glanced at you and you quickly tore your eyes away. You swallowed. There was no way you could convincingly play Heero Yuy’s wife.

“So I heard you, Michelle, and Sam are going shopping for the mission,” Duo said.

“That was probably part of the curious story,” you said with a scowl.

“Maybe it was.” Duo grinned. 

“I need shoes.” 

“Shoes?” 

“They’re good therapy.” 

“I fail to see the logic in that.” Duo gave Heero a questioning glance.

Heero shrugged but didn’t say anything. 

“It’s women’s logic, Duo,” you said with a smirk. “While you men go al barbarian and start punching things, we women go shopping.” 

From the corner of your eye you could see Heero was trying not to smirk.

“Are you angry with someone then?” Duo asked.

“I’m pissed!” You walked out of the elevator when the doors opened. “With Michelle for telling you about _La Perla_. She has a little too much imagination.” 

“Aah…” Duo wrapped an arm around your shoulders and steered you into the direction of the cafeteria. “You can tell me all about it during lunch.” 

-x-x-x-

A three sharp you entered the gym. Heero was already there, warming up his muscles. He had changed his Preventer uniform for a loose green tank top and a pair of black sweat pants. You watched as he stretched, then quickly tore your eyes away as he turned around. It really was impossible to watch him without him noticing. 

“You’re here,” Heero said, while making his way over to where you were standing.

“Well, yes, that much is obvious,” you said, while putting the water bottle you were carrying with you down on the ground by the wall.

He ignored your sarcastic remark and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “What do you know about self defense?” 

“I followed the obligatory courses at the academy,” you said.

“Good, then you’ll be able to hold your own,” Heero said. "Start warming up and then we’ll see.” 

You sighed. “Sure.” 

You made your way over to the middle of the gym and started to warm up your muscles. 

“Do you know how to handle a gun?” Heero asked.

You paused mid-stretch and gave him a look that clearly said _‘Duh!’_.

“What else can you do?” 

“I can hack computer systems, know how to disarm a simple bomb, I can fly a shuttle, you know… the basics.” You turned towards him. “Satisfied?”

“Pretty much.” he said with a shrug. “Let’s get started.” 

An hour later, you felt like you had just run a marathon. Heero Yuy was like a frigging drill instructor! He had really pushed you to your limit. You sat down heavily on the ground and grabbed your water bottle. You took a couple of sips from it, soothing your parched throat. Your face was red from exertion and you were sure you wouldn’t be able to get up if you wanted to. Your legs felt like jelly. 

You leaned back against the wall and sighed. “Damn.” 

“Are you alright?” Heero asked you.

“Yeah…” You took another sip from the bottle. “I just need a few minutes.”

“You’ll have to work out again tomorrow to keep your muscles from getting stiff.” 

“I know.” You pushed a few bangs that had escaped your pony tail out of your face. “A hot bath is in order too.”

He sat down next to you. “About the mission…”

“Yeah?” 

“We have to make a few ground rules about…” he trailed off. If he was uncomfortable he sure as hell didn’t show it. His face remained an impassive mask.

“The acting as a married couple,” you finished for him.

“Yeah…” He glanced at you. “What is acceptable to you?” 

“Holding hands, kisses on the cheek.” You shrugged. “A peck on the lips maybe… if it’s really necessary.” 

“Hn.” He seemed to contemplate what you had said. “I think I’ll go with that. We’ll have to wear rings.”

“Yeah… it would probably be weird if we don’t. We’re supposed to married after all.” You stretched out your legs casually, trying to ease out the kinks in your muscles. “I want a nice one with a big diamond.” 

You watched his lips twitch with amusement. For a moment his eyes warmed and he seemed to be more approachable. Then he became cold again. You almost sighed in disappointment. For a moment you had been able to see what could be. And despite your protests to your friends about the mission, you really did think Heero was handsome and sexy, and damn it, downright yummy! 

“I’m going home,” you said after a while. You tried to get up, but groaned as your muscles protested. “You got me good, drill instructor!” 

Heero stood up and offered you his hand. You took it without a thought, and bit back a gasp as the contact sent tingles up your arm. He effortlessly pulled you to a standing position, before letting go of your hand. You swallowed before meeting his eyes. He was gazing at you with an unreadable expression on his face. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” you said.

“Hn.” He nodded. “You can move your stuff into my office until the mission.”

“Am I not getting my own?” you asked.

“I thought it would be easier if I had another desk placed in mine.” He shrugged. “If you really want your own, it can be arranged.” 

“No, it’s fine!” you hurried to assure him. “Really. It’s just for two weeks.”

He nodded again, but didn’t speak. You gave him a small smile. “I have to go.” 

“Right. I’ll see you,” He said.

You turned around and walked out of the gym, feeling his eyes on your back the whole time. 

-x-x-x-

“I googled _La Perla_ ,” Duo told you the next morning during your coffee break.

You choked on your tea and glared at him. “What?” 

“It kinda left me wondering what you are planning,” he said with a grin.

“I am NOT planning anything. Michelle was.” You put your mug down on the table. “I told you she has too much imagination.” 

“She wants you to seduce Heero?” 

“Apparently.” 

“During the mission?” 

“Yes.” 

“And are you going to do it?” 

“No.” You tore a napkin to shreds and gazed absentmindedly at the mess you had created. 

“Why not?” Duo asked.

“Why should I?” you said while leaning back in your chair. “I don’t know him enough to even consider it.” 

Duo rolled his eyes. “Heero is not the type to use a woman for kicks if that is what you are concerned about.” 

“He is my partner and I want my relationship with him to be a professional one,” you said with a glare. “I’m not going to throw my job on the line.” 

Duo grinned. “Une would never dare firing a girlfriend of an ex-Gundam pilot.” 

“Duo!” you exclaimed in frustration. “I’m not his girlfriend and I certainly will never be.” 

Duo was relentless. “One day I’ll make you eat those words.” 

You rolled your eyes and got up. “We’ll see about that.” 

You left the table, just as Sam arrived. “Where are you going?” 

“Away from you _La Perla_ freaks!” you threw over your shoulder, while stomping out of the cafeteria. 

Sam gave Duo a questioning stare. “What is going on?”

Duo grinned. “It started with a curious story…” 

You stormed through the hallway towards the elevator. The doors opened just as you arrived there and Wufei stepped out. He gave you a scrutinizing stare when he noticed the look on your face. You really weren’t in the mood to deal with him and you quickly breezed past him and into the elevator. You pushed the button for the roof and leaned against the back wall of the cubicle. The doors slid shut and you took a deep breath, trying to relax.

What was wrong with everyone these days? Why did they all want you and Heero to…? You weren’t even going to think about it! You groaned and stomped out of the elevator when you reached the roof. You pushed open the double doors at the end of the hallway and breathed in the fresh air with a relieved sigh. Much better…

“Are you okay, -Y/N-?” 

You squeaked and whirled around to the sound of Heero’s voice. He was leaning against the wall, next to one of the doors, and he gave you a curious stare. 

You took a deep breath to calm yourself. “Yeah, I’m fine.” 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He stepped forward, towards the edge of the roof, and leaned his elbows on the railing of the fence. 

“It’s okay.” You stepped up next to him and leaned against the fence as well. 

In front of you, Brussels stretched out under the blue sky of a sunny April afternoon. You studied the view with a thoughtful expression, obvious to Heero watching you.

“If you want to I could work out with you this afternoon,” Heero said.

You looked at him and gave him a small smile. “Sure.”

You hadn’t really spoken to him during the first few hours of your shift. He had been in a meeting when you had arrived at HQ. You had found a new empty desk in Heero’s office, and in the hours that followed you had been busy transferring your stuff from your own office into his, and trying to sort out the mess. Your new desk still was cluttered with folders and papers. Heero had come in for a moment after his meeting and had left again to go into the next. He had not commented on the chaos you had made of his office, but you felt a little bad for invading his territory in such a way.

“I saw you managed to organize the biggest part of your folders,” he said.

“Yeah…” You fought the urge to scowl. “I’m sorry for the mess. I am a chaotic person.”

His lips tilted in the barest hint of a smile. “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”

“It at least makes your office look like someone is working there,” you said with a smile, warming up to him a little bit.

He nodded, but didn’t say anything for a while. You rested your chin on your hand with a sigh and stared ahead of you. 

“People have started to talk about our mission,” Heero said suddenly.

“I know.” You gave him a sideway glance. “I told Sam and Michelle about the mission, and I know Michelle told Duo.”

Heero raised an eyebrow. 

“I didn’t mean to start any rumors,” you quickly assured him.

“You just told them what the mission is about?” 

“Yeah, nothing else.” You pushed your hair behind your ear and met his steady gaze. You felt your stomach contract with nerves. Damn it, why did he have to make you feel nervous?

“So you’re not planning to seduce me?” he asked. “Because that’s what I have heard.” 

You blanched, then carefully schooled your features into a frown. “No. I value my job too much for that.” 

An awkward silence hung between the two of you, and you tore your eyes away from his to study your nails. 

“It must have been others who started the rumors then,” he said after a while.

You nodded. “I think so.” 

“If it bothers you, I can take care of it.” 

You looked at him again. His expression was unreadable and you felt a little confused. Why would he care that people talked about you? You didn’t consider him a friend, merely an acquaintance who happened to have a mutual friend really, and he certainly hadn’t indicated any form of friendship during the last few days since you had been assigned together for the mission. 

“I’ll be fine,” you said with a small smile. “But thanks.” 

“You’re welcome.” He glanced at his watch. “I have to go. I have another meeting in five minutes.” 

“Right.” You glanced at your watch as well. “I should head back to the office and try to sort out the rest of the mess.” 

He smirked. “Good luck with that.” 

You felt heat rise to your cheeks at the expression on his face. He really looked downright sexy like that. Not willing to let him know about the effect he had on you, you managed a smile and walked past him. “Thanks.” 

Heero walked after you towards the elevator. “We’ll get our rings next week, by the way.” 

“I get my diamond?” you asked him with a grin.

“Yeah, but you have to give it back after the mission,” he said. His tone was a little warmer now and it was a stunning contrast to his normal monotone way of speaking. You wondered what he would sound like if he really warmed up to someone. 

“Too bad.” you said, while stepping into the elevator.

“Maybe you can buy it,” he said with a hint of a smile. 

“And then what? I’m not going to wear it to work,” you said, while stepping out of the elevator when you reached your floor. “I might damage it and besides… it would start more rumors then.” 

“I guess you’re right.” 

You walked into Heero’s office, and sighed at the sight of folders and papers scattered across your desk. Heero grabbed a folder from his desk and then turned towards you. “I’ll see you in an hour.” 

“Right.” You picked up a couple of folders and contemplated what to do with them. You didn’t notice him leaving. 

You worked for half an hour, organizing the folders and papers in a file cabinet. You jumped when someone knocked on the open door, and turned to see who it was. Duo stood in the doorway and you felt your mood drop again. You really weren’t up for more of his teasing.

“Hey,” he said. “Sorry about earlier.”

“You better be,” you said, while pushing papers together in a stack. “I’m already growing tired of you all getting ideas about me and Heero.” 

“You know we’re just teasing,” he said, while sitting down in Heero’s chair behind his desk. 

“Yeah well… Heero said that someone is spreading rumors and he thought it was me.” You pinned Duo with a glare. “So I’m going to ask: Did you or Michelle or Sam spread any rumors?” 

Duo looked shocked. “We’re your friends, -Y/N-. We wouldn’t do such a thing.” 

You sat down in your own chair, feeling weary. “I know. Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” 

Duo pulled his chair over next to you and rested a hand on your shoulder. “Are you okay?” 

You nodded. “Yeah… It just pisses me off that people think that low of me.”

“What were the rumors about?” 

“Heero heard that I was planning to seduce him,” you said with a sigh.

“What did he say about it?” Duo gave your shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. 

“He asked if I was the one who had spread the rumor. I told him that I value my job too much for that.” You leaned back in your chair. “He then asked me if I wanted him to do something about it.” 

“Typically Heero,” Duo muttered. 

“Typical? He is supposed to be a cold as the North Pole! Why would he care about me?” you asked.

Duo chuckled. “The North Pole?”

You narrowed your eyes in a mock glare. “Are you laughing at me?” 

“No.” Duo tried to look innocent. “You’re creative with words.” 

You rolled your eyes. “Whatever, Duo.” 

“Heero is a very okay guy, once you get to know him,” Duo said reassuringly. “I should know! He has been my friend for years.”

“Friends don’t threaten to kill each other.” You gave him an amused look.

Duo waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “Heero has threatened me, Quatre, and Relena, and we’re all still walking and talking. He never goes through with it.” 

“Alright…” You rubbed your forehead. “I told him he didn’t have to do something about the rumors.” 

“You’re just gonna let people talk about you?” Duo asked, sounding surprised.

“I don’t even know who has been talking,” you said. “Once I know, I will speak to him or her in person.” 

“I see.” Duo patted your shoulder. “I’ll try to help you.” 

“Thanks.” You gave him a small smile.

“I should go,” Duo said, while standing up. “Une is gonna kill me if she doesn’t find me in my office in five minutes.” 

You giggled. “Hurry then.” 

He chuckled and left the office. You went back to ordering the last of the folders on your desk. Ten minutes later, Heero came walking into the office again. He sat down behind his desk and started typing away behind his computer. He seemed utterly focused on what he was doing, and this time he didn’t seem to notice it when you looked at him. You observed his features, noticed the way his fingers moved over the keyboard in an almost graceful way. You caught yourself and tore your eyes away from him, preparing to complete the rest of your report on your last assignment. 

At the knock on the door, you and Heero both looked up. One of the department’s secretaries was standing in the doorway, looking immaculate in a neatly pressed blouse and a black skirt that reached her knees. You almost started to feel self-conscious. She was utterly feminine, and while you liked nice dresses and shoes, you always wore your Preventer uniform and practical shoes to work. 

“Heero, honey,” she said with a sweet smile, “could you take a look at my computer? It’s not working again.” 

“Sure.” Heero gave her a small smile, got up, and left the office, the secretary trailing after him. 

You blinked. He had smiled at her! Smiled! You could hear her giggle in the hallway and you rolled your eyes. And apparently he could also make her giggle. Did that mean he had humor then? Or was the secretary one of those brainless bimbos that giggled over anything a handsome man said to charm him into bed with her? Wait a second… were you jealous? You scowled and started typing furiously. You were NOT jealous. Heero Yuy was your partner and how handsome he may be, you were NOT going to act on your attraction towards him. That secretary could have him if she wanted.

Heero came walking back into the office. The secretary came in as well and smiled at him. “Can I get you some coffee?” 

You pressed in the keys on your keyboard a little harder, creating more noise. You tried not to scowl. 

“No, thanks,” Heero said. 

The secretary turned towards you. “I don’t believe we have met before.” 

You glanced up at her and tried to smile. “No we haven’t.” 

She stepped closer and offered you her hand. Always polite, you rose and gave her hand a firm shake. “I’m -Y/N-.” 

“Sheila,” she introduced herself. “I’m Wufei’s secretary, and Trowa’s when he is here.” 

“I see.” You sat down in your chair again. “I’m Heero’s partner for the next mission. I’ll be around here for two weeks, and I’ll move back to my department once the mission is over.” 

“I heard,” Sheila gave you a smile, and you started to suspect that it was fake. She probably believed the rumors and thought you were going to steal Heero from her. It was obvious she was attracted to him. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” You focused on your computer again. 

Sheila sashayed out of the office, the fabric of her skirt swirling around her legs. Heero watched her go and then turned his chair to look at you. You gave him a questioning look. “Is there something the matter?” 

“What was that about?” he asked.

“Err… what?” You were confused.

“Did you see how she reacted towards you?” 

“Yes. Most women react like that when another woman gets close to the man they like,” you said calmly, while saving the file on your computer. 

Heero frowned. “She doesn’t like me.” 

“Then you’re pretty dense, because her whole act towards you screamed _‘like me!’_.” You grinned at him. 

“Ooh…” He seemed at loss for words. 

Did he know anything about the working of the female mind? You seriously wondered about it. 

“She probably heard about the rumors and believes them,” you said. “Hence the fake smile in my direction.” 

“I’ll talk to Wufei about it,” Heero got up and opened his folder cabinet. “I really don’t want any rumors about the mission. It’s irritating.” 

You really doubted Wufei would ‘talk’ to his secretary. He’d probably throw some sexist remarks at her head and consider the ‘talk’ done. And then the secretary would be angry with you for sending Wufei after her. She’d bawl her eyes out in front of Heero and ask him to send you back to your own office. And then she would try to seduce him. You scowled and rubbed your hands over your face. You really had to stop with being jealous. 

“It’s time for lunch.” 

You looked towards the doorway and found Wufei leaning against the doorpost.

“Yeah.” Heero dropped a file on his desk and selected another from the cabinet. “I’m almost done.” 

Wufei looked at you and you met his gaze with a small smile. “How’s it going?” 

He raised an eyebrow and didn’t say anything. You rolled your eyes and got up. You grabbed your cell phone and wallet from your bag and pushed past Wufei with a scowl on your face. You really didn’t like him. You could feel his eyes on your back as you stomped your way towards the elevator. You got in when it arrived and were glad when the doors closed. When you arrived at the cafeteria, Sam and Michelle were already sitting at a table. You bought your lunch and joined them. 

“How is your first day in Heero’s office going?” Michelle asked, after taking a sip of her soda.

“I was at war with the amount of folders I have,” you said, while unwrapping your sandwich. “I didn’t know I had so much stuff!”

“Well, that’s what you get when you’re from the research department.” Sam grinned. “My office is horrible too.” 

“And then Wufei’s secretary came in.” 

“Sheila?” Sam asked. “I know her. She is nice to you, until you talk to Heero. Then she gets claws.” 

“Yeah, I noticed.” You took a bite of your sandwich and sighed. 

“What did she do?” Michelle asked. 

“Just directed a fake smile in my direction and sashayed out of the office to get Heero’s attention,” you said with a shrug. “Then he asked me what was going on.” 

“Heero is a little dense when it comes to female attention.” Duo joined you at the table and grinned at you. “He doesn’t really notice that women tend to fall in front of his feet.”

You rolled your eyes. “Right Duo. And you would notice?”

“If a woman fell for me?” he asked. “Sure I would.”

“I guess it has to do with him being like a robot then,” Michelle said.

“A robot?” Duo raised an eyebrow.

“-Y/N- said he was one,” Michelle said with a giggle.

Duo turned towards you, while chuckling. “A robot? The North Pole? What’s up with all these names you got for him?” 

“She also called him an iceberg,” Sam said.

You scowled at her. “Traitor.” 

“Sorry.” She grinned at you. 

“Just wait until I tell him about the name you have for Wufei!” 

Sam shrugged. “Everyone knows he has a stick up his ass.” 

Duo choked on his bite of pizza and coughed. “You girls are horrible.” 

“I didn’t call Heero anything funny,” Michelle said defensively, while holding up her hands. 

“Yes, you did!” you accused. “And you said something else as well!”

Michelle blushed. “Okay. Guilty.”

“What did she say then?” Duo gave you a questioning stare.

“She called him Heero-sexy-Yuy, and dared to bet that under his cool exterior is a beast,” you said, while crossing your arms in front of your chest. “She is the most horrible one of the three of us.”

Duo roared with laughter, catching the attention of other people in the cafeteria. You noticed that Heero and Wufei had entered the room as well, and they both leveled a steady gaze in Duo’s direction. He waved at them and then mentioned the empty seats at your table. You watched as Heero gave a curt nod, and then gave Duo a shove. 

“Duo!” you hissed. “Did you just invite them to have lunch with us?” 

“Yeah,” he said with a grin. 

Sam pouted. “Well there is nothing we can do about it now.” 

Michelle practically lit up. “We’ll have Heero sit next to –Y/N-. I would love to see the reaction on the secretary’s face!” 

She started looking around and found Sheila at a table next to the window. She was watching Heero who didn’t seem to notice her at all.

“I get what you mean about him being dense,” Michelle said to Duo. “That stare could melt metal.” 

You giggled. “It’s pretty sad, really.” 

Heero and Wufei joined you at the table, and you scooted over a bit to make room for Heero as he sat down next to you. You watched Sheila’s pining look in Heero’s direction turn into one of boiling anger. 

“Ooh… she -mph!-” Michelle scowled as Sam pressed her hand over her mouth.

Sam gave her a stern look before giving you a sweet smile. “So –Y/N-? Any other plans for the weekend beside our shopping trip?” 

“Nope.” You shook your head. “I’m going to be boring and curl up on the couch with Mister Foofykins.” 

Heero gave you a questioning look.

“My cat,” you said with a laugh.

“He’s going to stay at my place during your mission!” Michelle said, after she had managed to pry Sam’s hand away from her face. “Sam had him the last time.” 

“Sure,” you said, “But don’t spoil him! The last time he stayed at your place, he came back and I couldn’t eat popcorn for weeks.” 

Michelle grinned. “He tried to mangle you when you opened the bag?” 

You scowled. “You shouldn’t have let him eat from the bag every time you had popcorn.” 

“Sorry.” Her gin told you she was not.

“You got mangled by your cat?” Duo asked with an amused undertone in his voice.

“He mangles everyone.” Sam said with a shrug. 

“He does not! Mister Foofykins is very nice!” You pouted.

“Okay… he only mangles the people he doesn’t like,” Sam compromised.

You finished your sandwich and popped open the can of diet coke you had bought. You took a sip and leaned back in your chair. 

“Trowa is going to be here again next week,” Wufei told Duo.

“Really?” You gave Wufei a surprised look. “I thought he wasn’t going to come back until September.” 

Wufei shrugged. “He is going to fall in for Heero.”

That explained it all. Trowa was a part time Preventer. He usually travelled with his sister’s circus from March till September and worked as a Preventer for the rest of the year. You liked him. You had worked with him during a couple of research assignments and you had found him very nice. Despite the fact that he seemed to be more stoic than Heero, he also seemed more approachable. He had always been friendly towards you, and he had even complimented you once after you had done some extensive research on a terrorist organization in Northern Europe. With your information, he and his team had been able to arrest everyone and avoid a new war. 

“It’s going to be nice to see him again,” Sam said with a grin. “He is a lot nicer than some other guys.” 

Wufei ignored her obvious jab and continued to eat his lunch. 

“We should invite Quatre over then and have a barbecue at my place, if the weather is nice,” Duo said, while leaning back in his chair. He took a sip from his soda and grinned. “You girls are welcome to attend as well.” 

You raised an eyebrow. “To attend or to help you in the kitchen?” 

Wufei snorted with laughter. “We all know Duo is horrible in the kitchen.” 

“Hence the invitation,” Michelle said with a giggle. “Don’t worry Duo. We’ll help you out.”

Duo didn’t seem bothered by your teasing and grinned. “Thanks.” 

You rolled your eyes and stood up. “I have to get back to work. I have to prepare for my presentation in the board room tomorrow.” 

“Right!” Michelle said. “Good luck with that.” 

You grinned. “Thanks.”

You left the cafeteria with a small smile on your face.

-x-x-x-

The next morning, you arrived at the headquarters, clad in a grey skirt that reached your knees and a matching jacket over a silk blouse. You had led your hair down and had applied more make-up than usual. You walked on a pair of killer Louboutins that had cost you a month’s salary but were definitely worth the price. You had wanted to look your best for your presentation, because, if you were lucky, you could get a promotion out of it. 

You breezed past Sheila’s desk at the entrance of the department and gave her a bright smile. “Good morning!” 

Her eyes widened as she took in your appearance, then narrowed into slits, which you didn’t see because you had already passed her.

Heero was already seated behind his desk and looked up when you entered. You put your bag with your Preventer uniform in it next to your desk and sat down in your chair. 

“Nice suit,” he said.

“Thanks!” you smiled at his compliment and booted up your computer. 

“Heero!” Sheila came breezing into the office with a sunny smile on her face. “Trowa has asked for information on the 509 project.” 

“I’ll mail it to him.” Heero didn’t even tear his eyes away from the screen to look at her. He simply continued typing away. 

Sheila’s expression turned sad. “Alright.” 

She left the office, but you could feel the glare she directed at you. You sighed when she was gone. “Just great.” 

“What?” Heero looked at you. 

You leaned back in your chair and gave him a droll stare. “I’m here to work. Not to fight over you with Wufei’s secretary.” 

Heero gave you a confused look. 

“She saw me walking in looking like this, and probably assumed I am doing it to gain your attention.” You could hear the frustration in your own voice. “I have no time for cat fights.” 

“Wufei is going to talk to her this morning,” Heero said. 

You attempted a small smile. “Good.”

You worked for an hour, breezed successfully through your presentation, and afterwards changed into your uniform in the ladies room. You were just pulling up your hair in a pony tail when Sheila burst into the bathroom, tears running down her face. She was sobbing hysterically and you turned around with a surprised look on your face.

“Sheila? Are you okay?” 

“It’s all your fault!” she wailed. “You send Wufei after me!” 

“I did not.” You gave her a cool stare. “Heero did.” 

“Why would he do such a thing?” Sheila grabbed some paper towels and wiped her cheeks. “Heero never complains about me.”

“He noticed your behavior towards me.” You carefully folded up your skirt and put it in your bag. “And I didn’t like the way you treated me.” 

She glared through her tears. “I treated you in a way I thought you deserved to be treated.” 

“Because you heard rumors about me?” you said coolly. “And of course you believed them right away when you heard them.” 

“How dare you make assumptions about me!” 

“I could say the same thing to you.” You zipped up your bag and pulled it off the ground. “I’ll tell you this: my relationship with Heero is a professional one. I’m not interested in him.” 

With those words, you left her and her drama behind. You made your way back into the office. Heero had left for a meeting and you were glad for it. You didn’t feel like telling him about what had happened with Sheila. You focused on doing research for your mission.

The area you would be observing was a popular vacation destination for politicians. In the past three months three ESUN politicians had disappeared without a trace. You looked up their credit card bills, did research on excursions and places they had visited, and saved everything in one file. You send it to Heero’s email and then went to get lunch. You weren’t feeling up for company so you went to the roof again. 

With a sigh you sat down on the ground and leaned back against the wall. It was another sunny day and you enjoyed the sounds of the city that spread around you. You jumped as the door opened and Heero stepped out.

“Wufei saw you going up here,” he said, while sitting down next to you. “He said Sheila didn’t take the talk lightly.” 

“No. She ambushed me in the ladies room and threw insults at my head,” you said. “She is such a drama queen.” 

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah…” You nodded and sipped your soda. “I can handle it.” 

“Hn.” 

“I mailed you information about the area we’re going to investigate, and about the three people that disappeared.”

“Thanks.” He sounded pleased with your initiative. 

“You know… I was thinking…” You started. “Shouldn’t we get to know each other a little better before we leave? I mean, just to prevent me from pulling weird faces when you put too much sugar in your coffee and such.” 

He chuckled. “I drink my coffee black.” 

“Which is disgusting as well,” you said while pulling a face.

He grinned at you. You watched the expression on his face, noticed the tiny laugh lines in the corner of his eyes. He had laugh lines! Your eyes widened in surprise. Robot Heero Yuy knew how to laugh! You grinned back at him and focused on the conversation again.

“I only drink tea.” 

“I don’t like tea.”

“Why not?” 

He shrugged. “Coffee is better.” 

You took another sip from your soda and smiled. “What’s your favorite music?” 

“I don’t listen to music.” 

You blinked and looked at him. “Not at all?” 

He shook his head. 

“Really?” 

He nodded.

“Damn!” You shook your head and chuckled. “That’s something I didn’t expect from you.” 

“Why?” 

You shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“What’s your favorite music?” He asked. 

“I don’t really have any specific type of music that I like,” you said with a smile. “I just listen to whatever suits my mood.” 

He contemplated what you said.

“Do you dance?” you asked.

“Sometimes. If I have to,” he said. “Knowing how to dance was a part of my training. I needed to be able to blend in everywhere.”

You frowned. “So you’re talking about ballroom dancing?”

“Yeah. But also Latin and such.” 

Heero Yuy was an interesting character. You liked the fact that he answered your questions with ease. It had to mean he valued you as a partner.

“How about you?” he asked.

You grinned at him. “When I was younger I always wanted to be a dancer. I took classes in different styles and became pretty good. It was just not good enough to become a professional dancer, so I quit. I still dance three times a week, but it’s just for the fun of it. What is your favorite meal?” 

He was silent for a while. When he spoke up you were surprised by his answer. “I don’t have one.” 

“Hmm…” You leaned your head back against the wall and smiled. “I guess that means I have to invite you over for dinner, so that you’ll at least have one before we go on our mission.” 

“Sounds like a plan,” he said with a nod.

You grinned at him. “How about tomorrow then?”

“Sure.” 

You glanced at your watch and noticed it was almost time for you to get back to work. You got up and stretched. “I’m going back inside.” 

He stood up too. “If Sheila bothers you again, you’ll tell me, alright?” 

You nodded. “I will.” 

Together you went back inside and took the elevator. When you stepped out, you saw Sheila sitting behind her desk. You sighed but continued on your way. You could see that Heero was keeping an eye on Sheila, to see what her reaction was to seeing the two of you together. Sheila threw a glare in your direction, but you ignored it, deciding to be the smarter one. 

You seated yourself behind your desk and continued doing research for your mission, while Heero went to read the information you had send him.

“This is very good,” Heero said, while scanning over the file. “I think we need to delve deeper in the excursions that they did. They all disappeared during one.” 

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” you said. “You think we need to do a few?” 

“For sure,” he said with a nod.

“I’ll do some more research on them,” you said.

“Good.” He sounded satisfied and it gave you a good feeling.

-x-x-x-

The next day, it was time for your shopping trip with Sam and Michelle. You enjoyed your day, bought more stuff then you needed, and ended up with your bed in a chaos when you tried to put away all your purchases. You had done some grocery shopping as well for your dinner with Heero. Giving up on trying to sort out the mess, you quickly took a shower and dressed in a snug pair of jeans and a tin grey sweater. You let your hair down and applied some make-up to your face. You hesitated with your hand resting above the jar that held your perfumes. Should you? You didn’t want to give him any ideas, but… You shrugged and pulled out your Coco Chanel, spraying a generous amount on your throat and hair. Satisfied, you walked into the kitchen to start dinner.

Heero arrived at six, exactly on time. You hadn’t expected the flowers he had brought you, but you smiled with delight when he handed them to you. 

“Thanks!” You sniffed a pale yellow rose in the bouquet. “They’re beautiful.” 

“You’re welcome,” he said quietly, a small smile on his face.

You stepped back to let him inside. You took in his appearance as he shrugged out of his jacket. He was wearing jeans and a blue shirt. He had rolled up the sleeves, displaying toned forearms. Very handsome, and that was rather dangerous, wasn’t it? You mentioned him to follow you into the kitchen. You had set the table earlier and your meal was in the oven. 

“I hope you like lasagna,” you said, while digging up a vase from a cabinet. 

“I do.” He leaned against the counter next to you and crossed his arms in front of his chest. 

The movement made his biceps bulge under the fabric of his shirt, and you swallowed before turning your attention back to putting the flowers in the vase. 

“I bought tons of clothes for the mission today,” you said with a smile. “I’m still not sure what I’m going to take with me.” 

Heero chuckled. “I’m guessing you’re fond of shopping?” 

“Yeah, when my credit card allows it.” You grinned at him. “The shoes I wore yesterday cost me a month’s salary.” 

He blinked. “That much?” 

“Yeah… But I feel extremely good when I wear them.” 

“And that makes them good therapy?” 

“Yep.” You finished putting the flowers in the vase. “Do you want something to drink?” 

“A beer if you have it.” 

“Sure.” 

You pulled open the fridge and got out a bottle of beer. You opened it and handed it to him, before pouring yourself a glass of wine. 

“Duo is really going to go through with the barbecue and all,” Heero said, after sipping his beer.

“Yeah… he called me earlier, said he wanted to go clubbing afterwards,” you said, while turning off the oven. “Sounds like fun.” 

“Hn…”

“But I think you’re not really the type to go to a club.” You grinned at him.

“It depends,” he said with a small smirk.

You froze in surprise and blinked. “Really? On what?” 

“My mood,” he said with a shrug, “And probably the amount of drinks I’ve had.” 

You chuckled. “I see.” 

“Of course Duo’s influence also counts.” He said it in a tone that told you he didn’t mind it that much. 

“Hmm… so, if we manage to get you drunk during the barbecue, you might go clubbing afterwards?” you asked.

He grinned for a moment. “If you manage to get me drunk.” 

“You sound like that is an impossible thing.” You opened the oven and got out the lasagna. 

Heero took your wine glass from the counter and took it to the table. You put the lasagna down and mentioned him to sit. You piled lasagna on his plate and then helped yourself. 

“It’s pretty hard for me to get drunk,” Heero said, before digging into the food.

“High alcohol tolerance?” you asked, after swallowing a bite.

“Something like that,” he said. “This is good.” 

Your cheeks heated up with his compliment and you smiled. “Thanks.” 

You enjoyed yourself immensely during dinner, and you started to wonder why you had whined about the mission in the first place. Heero was very nice and he seemed to be interested in everything you had to say. After he had left, you gazed at the flowers he had brought you with a smile on your face. It had been very considerate of him to buy them for you. Thinking back on it, the evening had been more like a date than a friendly evening between colleagues. Your cheeks warmed when you remembered how he given you small smiles during the evening. He had been so handsome… you scowled and caught yourself, just before your thoughts could go in the wrong direction. You were NOT going to think about Heero Yuy in a romantic way. 

There was too much a stake to allow yourself the privilege. And besides, you really didn’t feel like doing things that confirmed the rumors that were going around already. You wanted to be looked at as a professional Preventer. And therefore Heero Yuy was off limits. Even if he was sexy as sin.

-x-x-x-

The week before your mission passed by in a rush. Trowa arrived, took over the 509 project, and Sheila was too busy with arranging things for him to bother you. You and Heero were busy as well with preparing for your mission, doing research, and receiving briefings. Duo planned the barbecue on the Saturday before the mission, and he even managed to blackmail Trowa into going to the club. You wondered if he managed to get Quatre that far as well, and it didn’t surprise you when he did.

“How did you do that?” you asked him over lunch on Thursday. “I mean… Quatre in a night club is like… a penguin in Hawaii.” 

Duo grinned. “Well… I know the owner of the club and I arranged a VIP lounge for us. It’s much quieter there and well… I did some talking about us needing to hang out more and then he agreed.” 

“Aah…” Sam grinned. “What are you going to say to Wufei and Heero?”

“Heero is not going to be much trouble,” you said with a dismissive wave of your hand. “He said that if we manage to get him drunk he might go.” 

“How do you know that?” Duo asked you. 

You blushed and quickly took a bite from your sandwich to avoid answering immediately. You hadn’t told anyone about inviting Heero over for dinner. Not everyone had to know about the things you did beside work, and you had wanted to avoid more rumors.

“Well?” Michelle gave you a questioning look.

You swallowed. “We had dinner the other night.” 

“What?!?” Sam’s eyes widened. “Where?” 

“I invited him over,” you said with a shrug. “It was just to get to know each other a little better to make the mission easier for both of us.”

“You cooked for him?” Michelle asked.

“I did.” 

“And?” 

“And what?” You scowled at her.

“Well… usually when a woman cooks for a man…” Duo started. He shut up when you glared at him.

“It wasn’t anything like that!” you protested.

“Hmm… then where did the flowers on your living room table come from?” Michelle asked with a sly smile.

You ground your teeth, but didn’t answer. You should have known she would notice the flowers when she had come over to watch a movie the night before.

“He bought you flowers?” Duo asked with a grin. “Heero never has done that before.” 

“And it doesn’t have to mean anything,” you said, while giving him a meaningful look. “So back to the ‘getting Wufei in the club’ thing. How are you going to manage that?” 

Duo smirked. “The same as I did with Trowa.” 

“Wufei won’t take blackmail lightly,” Sam said.

“He doesn’t care so much when it comes from me.” Duo was completely sure of himself. “After all I have been his friend for years.” 

“Yeah, we know.” Sam leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “I have known him for years too and he is still a prick to me.” 

Duo grinned. “Well… there are some things you don’t know about, when it comes to Wu-man.”

“Like what?” Sam asked.

“Err… well…” Duo scratched the back of his neck, “I’m not actually supposed to tell you.” 

Sam and you both raised an eyebrow. When Duo got nervous, it was always about something that was too serious for him.

“You can’t make us curious and then not tell us anything!” Michelle exclaimed.

Duo closed his eyes. “Wufei kinda likes you,” he blurted out to Sam.

Sam sat stunned for a while, her eyes wide and her cheeks a furious red. You were just as surprised but quickly regained your composure. 

“Kinda?” you asked.

“Okay, a lot,” Duo said quickly. “Don’t tell him you have it from me. He’ll kill me.” 

“H-he…” Sam sputtered. “He… OH THAT JERK!” 

She got up and stormed out of the cafeteria. You, Duo, and Michelle all stared after her, and then looked at each other. You blinked. “What do you think she is going to do?” 

“Kiss him for sure.” Michelle said with a grin. 

“Right…” you said skeptically. “She doesn’t like him… or does she?” 

“Well…” Michelle said with a smile, “I’ve had the impression that she does, and that is why she was so pissed off with him after that mission.” 

“Hmm…” You sipped your drink. “We’ll see what happens.” 

“Yeah…” Duo grinned. “And I think Wufei is going to the club on Saturday.” 

-x-x-x-

Duo opened the door with a huge grin on his face. “Heya, pretty Lady!” 

You couldn’t suppress the smile that spread on your face. “Hey.” 

“Come in!” Duo stepped back to let you into his home. 

You had been over a Duo’s house a couple of times before. He lived in a nice condo with a big backyard that he used a lot to throw parties in the summer. He took your coat, and mentioned you to follow him through the living room onto the back porch. He had set up a party tent to keep out the late afternoon chill. There were a couple of terrace heaters burning and Michelle had seated herself beneath one. Wufei and Sam were sitting at her left and were deep in conversation. They had managed to work out their differences, and during lunch on Friday Sam had gushed on and on about how nice Wufei was. It had gotten a little bit sickening. 

Trowa was attending to the barbecue, while Heero leaned against the wall next to him. Quatre stood up when he saw you, and he pulled you towards him for a quick hug. 

“How nice to see you again,” he said with a warm smile.

You grinned at him. “I don’t see you near enough, Quatre.” 

“I know,” he said; his smile turned apologetic. “I’ve been quite busy.” 

“Don’t worry about it.” You pressed a kiss against his cheek, before sitting down in an empty chair. 

Duo came to give you a glass of wine. When you took a sip your face lit up with delight when you realized he had bought your favorite wine. “Nice, Duo.” 

He chuckled. “I remembered you like it.” 

You grinned. “It makes me wonder what else you know.” 

He grinned back at you. “Why don’t you make me talk and find out?”

“Don’t flirt with me,” you chided, while giving him a stern look. “You know you’re not my type.” 

Michelle giggled. “There Duo.”

He glared at her. “Don’t make fun of me.” 

“They wouldn’t if you’d stop making a fool out of yourself,” Wufei said with a smirk.

“Puh!” Duo stuck out his tongue at him. 

Heero chuckled. “You know he is right.” 

“Don’t you start as well!” Duo exclaimed, while pumping his fist in the air in a threatening move. 

Heero made his way over to where you were sitting, and sat down next to you. You took another sip of your wine, before giving him a smile. “Where is your drink?” 

“I’m not drinking yet.” 

“Duo, get the man a beer,” you said resolutely. 

Duo caught on and quickly rushed back inside. Heero raised an eyebrow and gave you a questioning look. You raised your glass to your mouth again in an attempt to hide the evil smile. “We’re gonna try.” 

“I should have known.” He definitely didn’t seem bothered by your plan to get him drunk.

“Heh…” You smirked.

During the barbecue, it became clear why Duo had invited you, Sam, and Michelle. The three of you managed to loosen up the five men enough to make them laugh, and talk, and even have fun. You and Duo managed to make Heero drink quite a lot, but on the outside the man didn’t seem to even feel the alcohol. He was more relaxed yes, but he could still walk in a straight line. You were certainly impressed. Later that evening you, Michelle, and Sam locked yourselves up in Duo’s bathroom to get ready for the club. You had brought a few extra outfits with you, and decided to change the flowery summer dress you were wearing for a pair of black snug jeans and strapless red top. You also put on a pair of red high heeled pumps that matched the color of your top.

You contemplated to do with your hair, while putting on some more make-up. You ran your hands through it when you were finished and gave Michelle a questioning look. “What should I do with my hair?”

“Leave it down!” Michelle dug into her bag of toiletries and took out a white fake flower. “And wear this.” 

You sprayed some hairspray into your hair and ran your hands through it to create a messy look. Michelle helped you with the flower and you grinned at her. “You are my hero.” 

She grinned. “Nah… I just want to make sure that Heero Yuy knows what his partner can look like.” 

You scowled at her. “Don’t start.”

“Just get him to dance with you,” Sam said with a smile. She pushed your bottle of Coco Chanel into your hands. “I already noticed that he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes of you.” 

You covered your blush with a glare in her direction. “Right…”

The two women shared a secret grin when you turned your back on them to stuff your other clothes back into the bag. When you were done, you went downstairs again. The men were still outside, relaxed and talking, and you fought the urge to smile at the sight of them. You could feel the camaraderie in the air and you were happy that you could be a part of it. 

Duo whistled through his teeth when he saw you. “First dance is mine.”

You grinned and patted the top of his head. “If you manage to keep up with me.” 

He chuckled. “Will be no problem, Babe.”

“Meh… Duo!” Michelle rushed out as well. “Why is it that you always want to dance with -Y/N- first?” 

Duo’s grin took on a teasing edge. “Because it makes all the girls jealous.” 

“You’re terrible!” you exclaimed. “You’re just using me to make all the girls come to you!” 

Duo held up his hands in a defensive gesture, but his grin stayed in place. “I can’t help it.” 

“You know that is a really bad excuse,” Trowa said dryly. “You could at least have said something else.”

“Err… You’re a really good dance partner?” Duo tried, while giving you a sweet smile.

You giggled. “Whatever, Duo. Dance with Michelle.”

“Yeah,” he said, while standing up. “Is Sam ready? We should go.” 

A half an hour later, you found yourself at a new club in the down town area of Brussels. The VIP lounge was very nice. You could hang out and talk without the music drowning all the sounds, and if you wanted to dance you could go outside the room and get onto a couple of platforms. There was also a staircase that led down towards the dance floor and the bar. You wandered around for a while, taking in the ambiance of the club. The music was good and you definitely felt like dancing. You wandered into the crowd and found Michelle and Sam in the middle. Duo was with them and they were all laughing. You grinned and joined them. 

“Gotcha!” Duo wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you towards him. 

You twisted out of his grasp, grabbed Michelle’s wrist, and pushed her in Duo’s direction. Duo didn’t seem bothered by it and pulled Michelle towards him. Michelle was blushing furiously, but she was lucky it didn’t show under the colorful lights in the club.

“Look who is staring at you from his place by the bar!” Sam said in your ear. 

“Huh?” You turned your head in the bar’s direction, and found Heero looking straight at you. 

The look in his eyes made you feel warm all over, and throwing caution in the wind, you grinned at him and mentioned him over. A new song started and you smiled when you recognized the familiar beat and easily moved your hips to it. You hadn’t expected Heero to accept, and swallowed as you watched him throw back the rest of his vodka, before he stepped away from the bar. You took in the way he looked, his eyes heated, the way his hair fell over his forehead, the faded jeans, and the blue t-shirt that brought out his eyes, the way he stalked towards you like a predator to its prey. Deciding you wanted a little more privacy, you moved backwards into the sea of moving bodies, leaving Sam, Duo, and Michelle behind. Heero followed you and stopped with a few inches remaining between the two of you. 

You leaned in, catching a whiff of his scent, which was wonderfully masculine, and wrapped your arms around his neck, your hips swaying to the beat of the music. “Now, let’s see how good your dancing skills are.” 

His lips tilted into a smirk. He wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you flush against him, moving with you as his eyes held you prisoner. You couldn’t look away from the stunningly intense pools of blue. His body was hard with muscles and you didn’t hesitate to touch his biceps and shoulders. When you danced, you considered touching your partner a normal thing and your normal reservations always disappeared. You lifted one leg and wrapped it around his waist when he dipped you, and you gasped when his hand grabbed hold of the back of your knee to hold you in place. His eyes caught yours again when he pulled you up, his lips still tilted into that sexy smirk. He pulled you closer so he could speak into your ear.

“So… Am I doing alright?” he asked, sounding completely confident. His voice sounded husky and you could barely suppress a shiver.

“You make a very good dance partner,” you said with a grin. 

You laughed when he spun you around and pulled you back against him, your back pressed against his chest. He let you set the pace, but he matched your every movement, his hands resting on your hips. Dancing with him was more than just fun. It held something distinctly sexual and it excited you. Your eyes slid shut when he pressed his face against your hair. You turned around in his arms and wrapped your arms around his neck again. You weren’t shy and met his eyes with confidence. The fire in them didn’t make you feel uncomfortable in the least.

He dipped you again, his hand sliding down your hip and along your thigh, pulling your leg up. You kept one hand on the back of his neck and slid the other down to rest against his chest. You could feel the hard planes beneath his shirt, and you bit your lip as his muscles jumped at your touch. He pulled you up again. The fire in his eyes had turned into an inferno. You knew you should stop before things got out of hand, but you couldn’t find the will or power to do so. 

He backed you up against the wall behind you, and planted a hand against it beside your head. He kept his other arm wrapped around your waist and stared into your eyes. You couldn’t look away and held your breath when he moved, closing the distance between the two of you. The first touch of his lips against yours set your mind spirally off into ecstasy, and a moan escaped you. Heero’s hand left the wall to cup the back of your head, his hand fisting in your hair, while his tongue delved between your lips. 

You pulled him closer, lining your body up against his and kissed him back with vigor. You ran your hands over his back and slipped one under his shirt. His skin felt hot to the touch and you reveled in the feeling of it. You explored his back, before trailing your hand over his side to his stomach. He nipped your bottom lip and sucked it into his mouth as you dipped your fingers between the ridges of his abs. 

You had never known a kiss could be as pleasurable as this, and it made you long for more. You explored the planes of his chest with your fingers and grinned when he hissed. He pulled back from the kiss and opened his eyes to gaze at you. He let go of your hair and cupped your cheek, his thumb outlining the shape of your bottom lip. Your lips were sensitive and swollen from his kiss, and shivers racked your body as the calluses on his thump scraped over them. 

He leaned in for another kiss. A sigh escaped you, and you pulled your hand from under his shirt to touch his face. A startled gasp escaped you when the hand that was pressed against your lower back slid down and squeezed your buttock. You broke away from the kiss and pressed your lips against his throat. You nipped and sucked on his skin, leaving a couple of impressive hickeys. You liked the way his breathing quickened under you ministrations, so you kissed your way up to his ear and nibbled on the sensitive skin behind it. 

You heard him suck in breath through his teeth and grinned. His grip on you tightened before he pulled back. “We have to stop.” 

You pouted. “Why?” 

His lips twisted up into a smirk, before he pulled you closer so he could speak in your ear. “My control is close to snapping.” 

The knowledge that you could reduce him to such a state sent a surge of excitement through your body, but you knew he was right. You had to stop before things got out of hand. You didn’t mind kissing him in the middle of a night club, but a quick hump in the bathroom didn’t sound appealing. You weren’t the type of woman to do those kinds of things.

“Alright,” you said, while stepping around him. 

You looked back at him when he caught your hand. He gave you a small smile and pulled you closer for one last kiss. The heat was still there, but he wasn’t in a hurry now. A sigh escaped you as he kissed you slowly and languidly. You opened your eyes and gave him a smile when he pulled back. He let go of you and you turned around and headed back towards the lounge.

The knowing grin that Michelle gave you when you arrived, told you enough. She had seen you and Heero. At the moment you couldn’t care less, but the next day you would scold yourself for your careless actions.

-x-x-x-

“Hello?”

“Heero?” you asked, sounding quite desperate. “Please tell me we didn’t do what we did last night.”

“We kissed.”

You sighed and plopped back down on your bed. The aspirin had started working, finally. You put your cell phone on speaker and put it down next to your head on the pillow.

“We’re screwed,” you said.

“Are we?” He didn’t sound like he was worried at all. 

“Yes! I mean... Duo knew something was up from the moment he saw what I did to your neck.” You pressed your hands over your eyes. “And I’m guessing that Michelle also knows.”

You wanted to crawl into a hole and die. So much for not feeling attracted to Heero Yuy. How could you have been so stupid? Kiss him? In the middle of a night club with all your friends present? Especially after you had sworn you weren’t going to make any moves on him! Well... he had kissed you first. But you had challenged him on the dance floor... if you hadn’t done that, you now wouldn’t have these delicious memories of his lips pressed against yours.

“What are you afraid of?” Heero asked you. “That they’re gonna run off to Une and tell her?”

“They wouldn’t do that,” you said. “But still...”

“-Y/N-, it was just a kiss.” He sounded amused.

“Not just one, Heero. I counted three.” 

He chuckled. “Okay... we kissed three times. What’s the big deal?”

“It’s not going to happen again,” you said resolutely. “I’m serious.”

“Hn...” 

“It wasn’t even supposed to happen.”

“No. But it felt like a good idea at the time.”

You blushed and ground your teeth. “You’re not going to kiss me during the mission.”

“If I have to I will.”

“Yeah... but not if it is not necessary.” You fought the urge to yell at him over the phone. He was being way too calm about what had happened the night before.

“Are you done packing?” he asked, easily changing the subject.

“Yeah. You?”

“Almost. Have you packed your badge in the way I told you to?” He was all business now and you sighed in relief. 

“I did.”

“Good. What have you done with the information you found?”

“I coded it. It’s pretty much inaccessible.”

“Alright. Be ready at nine tomorrow. I’ll be there to pick you up.”

“Sure,” you said, while grabbing your phone. 

You were almost ready to cut off your conversation, when he spoke again.

“-Y/N-?” His voice carried a warm undertone.

“Yes?”

“I enjoyed myself last night.” 

“Get lost, Yuy!” you exclaimed, before hanging up on him. 

You threw your phone down on the nightstand and rolled over onto your stomach. You pressed your face into your pillow and groaned. Damn him... why did he have to say that?

This mission was going to be one though cookie... a very irresistible cookie.

**\- End part 1 -**


	2. Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing, its characters, or you.

**Every Moment  
Part 2**

_Unknown Location, Brussels, AC 203_

You stared through the windshield as Heero drove towards Brussels air/spaceport, and couldn’t seem to figure out what to say to him. He had been all business from the moment you had opened the door, and you had been happy about that. You didn’t want to think about what had happened on Saturday night, and you definitely didn’t want to talk about it. But now, while you were about to depart on your mission, you didn’t know what to say.

“Are you alright?” he asked you.

You turned your head and met his eyes for a brief moment, before he focused on the road again. 

“Yeah,” you said quietly. 

You leaned back in your seat with a sigh. Your eyes were drawn to his hand as he shifted gears. On his finger, a simple white gold band flashed. You knew that on the inside of it there was an inscription with your name and the supposed date of your marriage. It felt a bit weird to know he was wearing a ring with your name on it, that he seemed willing to do so. But then Heero Yuy did everything he deemed necessary for his missions. You looked at the ring on your own finger, and watched as the diamond caught the light and sparkled. It was a nice ring, you thought absentmindedly. 

Normally, Preventer used private shuttles departing from the base in Leopoldsburg to go on missions. This time you were making an exception. Since the disappearances of the ESUN politicians were still a mystery, you also didn’t know if there was a secret organization working in the area. You didn’t know if they screened the airport, the roads, and the database of the hotel you would be staying at. You had to go by a public airplane, and you had to start acting the moment you got out of the car. Everyone around you had to think you and Heero were really going on a honeymoon. 

Heero parked the car in airport’s parking garage, and turned off the engine. You looked at him when he turned towards you. 

“This is the last time we can discuss the mission. I have to check the hotel room for cameras and microphones the moment we get there,” he said. “If there aren’t any, we can sit down and discuss our plan.” 

“Sure,” you said with a nod. “What will we do if they have installed devices like that?” 

“We can’t turn them off,” he said, while leaning back in his seat. “And we then have to make sure we act convincingly. We can find another place close to the hotel to sit down and talk. ” 

“Alright.” You bit your lip and nodded.

You jumped when he reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind your ear. His fingers trailed over you cheek for a moment, and you fought the urge to shiver. 

“Relax,” he told you with a small smile.

You fought the urge to scowl. “I am relaxed.” 

“Right…” he said, sounding vaguely sarcastic. 

“Let’s get going.” You opened the door and got out. 

You managed to plaster a sunny smile on your face, while Heero got out of the car as well and retrieved your suitcases from the trunk. You grabbed your suitcase and started on your walk towards the airport’s entrance. Heero caught up with you and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. 

“Slow down,” he said with a chuckle.

You looked up at him and felt your cheeks heat up when you saw the look in his eyes. There was nothing to be seen of his normal robot like ways; his eyes held a warm glint that reminded you of his kisses in the club. You quickly tore your eyes away from his and focused on where you were going. Somehow, he was a really convincing actor. If he had really been your husband, would he have looked at you in this way? You couldn’t help but wonder. In the past two weeks you had learned that Heero wasn’t as cold as you first had thought. On the contrary, he was very kind. But you shouldn’t confuse the act he was doing now with his real feelings, whatever they may be. 

You checked in, went through security, and took a seat near the gate, all the while playing the happily married couple. You made sure your smile stayed in place the whole time, although it was very hard whenever Heero touched you. He was currently nuzzling your hair, his arm wrapped around you as you leaned against him. 

“See that woman over there?” he whispered in your ear.

You kept your smile in place and met his eyes, not looking at the woman in a black business suit, who had been staring at you from the moment you had seated yourself in the waiting area. 

“Hmm?” You gazed up at him, hoping that the look on your face reflected a convincing affection. 

Heero cupped your cheek and pulled you closer. He trailed his lips along your other cheek, towards you ear. “She has been looking at us the whole time.” 

“I know…” you whispered. 

He pulled back and pressed a kiss against your forehead. You closed your eyes at the tingling sensation his lips caused. You had to admit that you liked the way he touched you. He was sticking to the rules you two had laid out, respecting your boundaries. You rested you head against his shoulder and sighed. His scent filled your nostrils, a mixture of soap and his cologne. He had smelled the same back in the club and it was a very addicting scent. 

“Come on,” he murmured against your ear, when the boarding desk opened.

You smiled and nodded, slowly rising from your seat. You reached for his hand. It was time for the mission to start.

-x-x-x-

You explored the hotel room with a smile on your face, pretending to be engrossed in the decor and the luxurious facilities, while actually checking for cameras or microphones. “This is awesome!” 

Heero came walking out of the bathroom. “There are no cameras.” 

You breathed out a sigh of relief and relaxed your shoulders, your expression turning neutral. “Thank heavens…” 

“Was it such a burden to act as my wife?” he asked in a dry tone, while raising an eyebrow.

You rolled your eyes, but didn’t answer. You took your laptop out of your bag and booted it up. “Alright… Tell me what you want to do.”

“Let’s go over the information you have found again first,” he said, while sitting down on the bed.

Naturally, there was only one bed in the room, which was also the honeymoon suite. Rose petals were scattered across the white satin sheets. You had almost rolled your eyes upon entering the room and had caught yourself just in time. At that moment, you hadn’t known if there were cameras or microphones in the room, so you were lucky you had remembered to be careful. But now you felt a bit uncomfortable at the thought of sharing the same bed with him. It was a big bed, you told yourself mentally. You had plenty enough room. You could sleep without touching him. 

You worked for an hour, going over the information once again. You discussed which excursions to take, and then you went into the bathroom to change into a bikini and a pale green summer dress. When you came back Heero was just pulling a white tank top over his head, giving you a great view of his back. You swallowed and felt your cheeks heat up as you watched his muscles work under his skin. You had touched him there, you remembered. You knew what his skin felt like, warm velvet over hard muscles. You pressed yourself against the bathroom door and took a deep breath. You almost sighed in disappointment when he pulled the tank top down, cutting of your view.

Heero turned around and met your eyes. The expression on his face was unreadable, so you couldn’t tell if he knew what kind of effect he had on you. You were damn sure he would be able to see it in your eyes. Along with the tank top he was wearing a pair of black swim shorts that ended just above his knees. You had never seen him in anything this casual. 

“Are you ready to go?” he asked you.

You nodded and stepped forward. “Yeah.” 

You packed a bag with towels, sunscreen, and a book, and left the hotel to go to the beach. You held onto Heero’s hand as you walked the short distance, noticing the way he entwined his fingers with yours. It was probably something he did to give it a more intimate look, but you enjoyed the feeling of his hands clasped around yours. 

You mentally scolded yourself for feeling this way. He was doing it for the mission. You shouldn’t seek anything behind it every time he showed you affection, because it was just an act. You were worried. What if you started to confuse his act for real feelings? What if you…

You scowled. He was off limits. No exceptions. You were **not** going to fall for Heero Yuy.

-x-x-x-

You awoke with a start when you felt fingers caress over your cheek. You opened you eyes and blinked at the bright sunlight that assaulted your vision. Up ahead, you could hear waves crash against the shore. Someone gently tugged on your hair, and you turned your head to find Heero watching you with a small smile on his face.

“Sorry,” you said, while turning over on your stomach. “Did I fall asleep?” 

“You did.” His smile widened slightly, giving you a glimpse of his teeth. 

You rested you head on your towel and sighed sleepily. “I can’t seem to stop myself from falling asleep whenever I go to the beach.” 

He chuckled and moved closer. His hand slid over your lower back and remained there, while he lowered himself down and rested his chin against your shoulder. 

“Remember the woman from the airport?” he asked you quietly.

“Hmm…” You tried to stop yourself from shivering as his fingers tickled over your skin.

“She is here.” 

“Is she watching us?” 

“Yeah.” 

You turned over on your back once more, and Heero pushed himself up on his arms to give you the space to do so. But then when he lowered himself again, and you realized just how close he really was. He held himself up on his elbows which were pressed against the towel on either side of your head. His face filled your vision, his eyes a shade darker than the blue sky above you. 

You swallowed before speaking. “What are we going to do?” 

He leaned in and nuzzled your cheek. “Nothing yet. We just got here.” 

You grinned at him. “Right… you just want to be lazy for the upcoming three weeks, I see.” 

His grin flashed and then his fingers grabbed hold of your chin. “I just thought I should enjoy myself a bit.” 

_“I enjoyed myself last night.”_ His words from the day before flashed through your mind and you froze.

“What?” he asked quietly, with his mouth dangerously close to yours.

You kept your smile in place, but on the inside you were starting to feel insecure, angry even. “I’m not the type of woman you can use and toss aside. I’m nothing like that.” 

He pulled back slightly, so he could look at you, the tiniest hint of a frown on his face. “What are you talking about?” 

“I’m not going to get involved with you.” You reached out and curled your fingers around the back of his neck. You knew that you had to keep your act going, so you arched up and pressed a kiss against the corner of his mouth. “Saturday was a mistake. It can never happen again.” 

“I understand,” he said quietly.

You wondered if you had just imagined the disappointed undertone in his voice. He lowered his head against your shoulder and you sighed. You wrapped your arms around him and closed your eyes. Really, you told yourself, it was for the best.

-x-x-x-

You sighed and watched your reflection in the mirror of the bathroom. Michelle had told you that everything in your suitcase had to scream _‘Just married woman on a honeymoon’_. It had to be that way in case someone decided to search through your stuff. You knew she had been right, so you had reluctantly agreed to some fancy lingerie sets and a silk black nightgown that hugged your curves. 

But now that you were wearing it, you felt unsure of yourself. What if Heero thought you were coming on to him? What if he decided to make a move on you? He had promised you he wouldn’t, you reminded yourself. There was no need to worry. But the nightgown was utterly feminine… it practically screamed _‘fuck me!’_. You really couldn’t go back into the room like this! But then, you also couldn’t sleep in your clothes… You sighed again and grabbed your silk robe and put it on. You had no choice.

You ran a hand through your hair, before unlocking the door and venturing into the room. Heero was just pulling back the sheets on the bed, scattering rose petals onto the floor. He looked up when you entered, and you could barely keep yourself from gasping. He was just wearing a pair of black boxer shorts and nothing else. Couldn’t he at least put some pants on or something? You tore your eyes away from him, and dumped your clothes next to your suitcase. You shouldn’t overreact to the sight of him without a shirt. You had been looking at him and touching him all day, and you hadn’t been that bothered by the fact that he had been shirtless then. 

You pulled on the knot in the belt of your robe and untied it. The silk fabric cascaded to the floor and you turned around to make your way over to the bed. Heero was looking at you, his expression schooled into an unreadable mask. You quickly scrambled under the sheets and lay down on your back. You turned your head to watch him as he got in as well. He turned off the light and settled under the sheets on his side, facing you. The room was dark, but due to the moonlight that shone through the window you could still make out his features clearly. His hair spilled over the pillow in a way that made you long to touch the dark locks. You balled your hands into fists in an attempt to control yourself. 

“Tomorrow we need to check out some excursions,” he said quietly.

You turned over on your side as well. “We should get off the hotel grounds as well. We need to see if this woman is following us.” 

“Hn.” His lips twitched into a small smile. “You did well today.” 

You felt your cheeks warm and you swallowed, hoping that he didn’t notice your blush in the dark. “Thanks.” 

He shifted and his leg brushed against yours. “Sorry.” 

“It’s okay.” Damn it, what had you been thinking earlier? The bed wasn’t big enough!

“Do you really think Saturday was a mistake?” he asked. 

You sighed and closed your eyes. “I was hoping you wouldn’t bring it up again.” 

“Why?” 

“I told you. You are my partner.” You opened your eyes again and met his gaze. “I’m not going to throw my job on the line for a fling with you.” 

“A fling?” He rolled onto his back and chuckled. 

You scowled. “Stop laughing at me.” 

He grinned at you and reached out to trail the back of his hand along your cheek. You swatted his hand away and glared at him. “I’m being serious.”

His expression sobered. “You still haven’t answered my question.” 

You sighed. “We were drinking.”

“I wasn’t drunk.” 

“I wasn’t thinking rationally. I gave it a good thought on Sunday, and I came to the conclusion that what happened could have compromised our mission,” you said.

He was silent for a while. “So where does this leave us?” 

“It leaves us as partners, maybe friends.” You scooted back a little and rolled over on your back. “I’m not interested in more.” 

“Hn.” Heero stared at the ceiling. 

“I’m going to sleep,” you said. 

You turned your back towards him and closed your eyes. It took a long time for you to finally drift off...

-x-x-x-

In the days that followed, it got easier. You got used to the idea of touching him. You pushed the memories of the night in the club to the back of your mind, and forced yourself not to think about it anymore. Your focus was on the mission alone. You did some excursions, and noticed that the woman from the airport kept following you. She never sought any form of contact, but she shadowed you. Sometimes there was a man with her, other times she was alone. Heero did research on her during the time you were in your hotel room. He discovered she was the daughter of a well respected business man, and a real enfant terrible. She had had the wrong friends when she was younger, went to the wrong parties, and was still suspected of being a part of dirty businesses. Heero started to suspect her involvement in the disappearances of the three ESUN politicians. 

“She is here again, isn’t she?” you asked Heero quietly, while snuggling into his side.

You were currently making a boat trip to a small bay, where you could dive. Although you kept an eye out for anything suspicious, you did enjoy yourself immensely. The fact that you were building a nice tan didn’t hurt either. Heero was a good partner, you thought. In the past few days, he hadn’t tried to make a move on you. He respected your wishes, and it made you respect him all the more. He seemed satisfied with the research you did on a daily basis. 

“She is.” Heero wrapped his arm around your shoulders and pressed a kiss against your temple. 

“Do you think she is going to make a move soon?” You nuzzled his neck and grinned when you felt him shiver.

“I don’t know.” He ran a hand through your hair and made you look at him. 

His eyes held a glint that made butterflies explode in your stomach. It’s just an act, you reminded yourself. You held your breath as he closed the gap between you for a gentle kiss. It was hard not to give in to him. It was during moments like this that his affection seemed genuine, and that made it hard for you to push him away. You buried your face in his shoulder when he drew back, to hide your expression from him. You held onto him tightly, and sighed when his arms wrapped around you. His embrace was warm, and he smelled like sunscreen and soap. You reveled in the feeling of him and relaxed.

The boat arrived at the bay, and you looked up when they let the anchor down. You gasped when you saw the view. “This is amazing.”

The water was so clear, you could see all the way to the bottom. Colorful fish swam around in the bluest water you had ever seen in your life. You dug out your camera from your bag and turned it on. You got up and started to take pictures. You had taken the camera with you as a part of your act. During the last few days you had taken countless of pictures. Not only to make it seem like you were a tourist; it also served as good way to take pictures of the people around you. You had managed to capture the woman in a couple of shots without her noticing, and you knew those pictures could be used as evidence. 

You zoomed in on the shore and took more pictures. “I think there is a cave close to the shore,” you said, while grinning at Heero.

“Really?” He got up from the cushioned lounge set you had been sitting upon and joined you at the railing of the boat.

You gave him your camera, the screen displaying the picture of the shore you had just taken. “See?” 

“Hn…” He grinned at you. “We should go there.” 

“And then what?” 

He pulled you closer for another kiss. “You know what.” 

He was good at playing his act with the right actions and words. He caressed the back of your neck in a manner that sent shivers down your spine. You pricked a finger into his chest and gave him a mischievous smile. “Say it.” 

Just the thought of him saying anything in that direction seemed utterly funny. You knew that if you pushed his buttons in the right way, he would. Heero Yuy didn’t back out of a challenge. He wouldn’t dream of it.

Heero brought his mouth to your ear, before he spoke in a low tone. “We should investigate it.” 

You had to strain to hear him and you nodded, while pouting in disappointment at him not taking your bait. “Sure.” 

He pulled away from you and took your hand in his. “Come on. Let’s go swimming.” 

You followed him back to the lounge set and took off your dress. You tried not to stare at him, as he pulled off his t-shirt. The sight of bronzed skin that stretched over taut muscles was something you couldn’t get used to, and you really felt an urge to stare at him whenever he pulled off his shirt. He was perfect, even with the numerous scars that covered his skin. 

You followed him downstairs and to the back of the boat, where you could get into the water. Various people were putting on diving gear. You walked past them, and watched as Heero dove forward from the back of the boat. You watched the muscles under his skin work with the movement. He disappeared under the surface, but since the water was so clear you could still see him. He surfaced again and turned around to watch you. He pushed his hair away from his face and gave you a challenging look. 

You could hear a couple of girls giggle behind you, and when you looked at them you could see they were ogling Heero. Jealousy flared, and you were surprised with the force of your own emotion. You scowled at them and then dove into the water as well. The water was a nice temperature and you surfaced with a delighted gasp. Heero’s arms encircled your waist and he pulled you towards him. You pressed your hands against his chest to ensure some distance, but he was relentless and he pulled you flush against him. His eyes sparkled with mischief when you looked up. 

“Now…” He murmured, while bringing his mouth to your ear. “We’ll see if she goes and searches through our stuff.” 

“Hmm…” You sighed and wrapped your arms around his neck.

It was amazing how he could play the act, and keep on talking about the mission like he did. He made it look like he was whispering endearments in your ear. You were sure that none suspected you to be preventers. Heero Yuy really was a professional. 

Heero cupped the back of your head and kissed you. His lips tasted like salt and you almost sighed in disappointment when he pulled back. “Let’s go to the cave.” 

“Yeah…” 

Together you swam towards the shoreline. You had trouble keeping up with him. Swimming wasn’t one of your strongest points. You knew how to swim, but you didn’t swim often enough as it wasn’t part of your work out routine. Heero noticed your struggle and stopped swimming.

“Are you okay?” he asked. He didn’t sound like he was tired at all.

“I don’t swim often enough,” you said, after taking a couple of deep breaths. 

Your arms hurt and your legs felt like jelly. So much for being in shape.

“Come here,” he said, while holding out his hand.

You took it without a second thought, and allowed him to pull you towards him. You wrapped your arms around his neck and sighed. “Sorry. I didn’t know I would get tired so easily.” 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll swim us both to shore,” he said.

“You got to be kidding me!” you exclaimed. “Swim us both to shore?” 

“Yeah.” He took hold of your arms and unwound them from around his neck, before turning his back towards you. “Just hang on.” 

You rolled your eyes and wrapped your arms around him from behind. You felt a little bad for making him swim with you on his back. “I’m really sorry.” 

He grunted, but he didn’t say anything.

“I’ll make it up to you. I swear.” The moment those words left your mouth, you scolded yourself for saying them. What if he…?

“Alright,” he said. “You can buy me dinner tonight.” 

“Hmm…” you contemplated what he had said. “Sure. We’ll see if there is a good restaurant in the area. That one close to the hotel looked nice.” 

“Hn.” 

You reached the shore a little while later. Heero took your hand, as you set course for the cave. The entrance of the cave was on the shore line, so small waves crashed around your feet as you stepped inside. Heero moved past you, carefully touching the walls and roof to make sure he wouldn’t hit his head as he walked. You followed him a little reluctantly. The cave was really dark. You couldn’t see a damn thing. What if there were bats in the cave? You shivered with disgust at the idea, and took another cautious step. 

“Heero?” you asked with a trembling voice. You wanted to leave, and you couldn’t care less if your voice sounded small and afraid at the moment.

“I’m here.” 

His hand touched your stomach, and you grabbed hold of it like it was your life anchor. 

“It’s so dark in here,” you said, while huddling against his back.

“Yeah…” He halted. “We should go back here tomorrow and take a flashlight with us.” 

“Do you think there are more caves like this around here?” you asked. “I mean… this one is easy to be found. There could also be underwater caves.” 

“Do research on it.” You felt him turn around. He wrapped his arm around your shoulders. “Let’s get back.” 

You carefully made your way back to the exit and breathed a sigh of relief, once you were outside again. “That was frigging scary.” 

Heero chuckled. “Nothing happened.”

You scowled at him. “What if there were bats in the cave? Or dead bodies, or something?”

He grinned. “You wouldn’t have been able to see them.” 

“Shut up.” You gave him a shove.

He didn’t budge, and you yelped as you stumbled on the uneven rocks beneath your feet. Heero was quick to grab your arms to steady you. 

“Careful,” he said, while chuckling.

You gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorry.” 

You swam back to the boat. Heero set an easy pace, to which you had no trouble to keep up with. People were milling about on the deck when you returned. You watched as Heero hoisted himself out of the water. The water ran down his body in little rivulets as he turned around and held out his hand to help you. You gripped his hand firmly and allowed him to pull you out of the water. You slipped on the wet floor of the deck and almost lost your balance as second time that day. Heero steadied you once again, and pulled you closer as he did.

“Clumsy today?” he asked with an amused undertone in his voice.

You pressed your hands against his chest and chuckled. “I think so.” 

He chuckled and pressed his lips against your forehead. “Come on.” 

He wrapped his arm around your shoulders and took you back to where you had left your stuff. You wrapped your towel around you and snuggled up against him on the lounge set again. You noticed that your bag wasn’t in its original place, and you looked at Heero. He gave you a knowing stare in return, but didn’t say anything.

About a half an hour later the boat started on its journey back to the harbor, close to the hotel. You felt a little sleepy and had trouble keeping your eyes open, the swim having tired you out considerably. Heero noticed and made you lay down on the lounge set with your head resting on his lap. 

“Get some sleep,” he told you, while running his fingers through your drying hair.

“Hmm… sorry,” you murmured. 

“The swim must have tired you.” 

“I think so too.” You stifled a yawn. 

He gave you a small smile, while he continued to play with your hair. You closed your eyes and shifted, getting more comfortable, before drifting off.

-x-x-x-

“Let’s see if she-”

“Shh!” Heero pressed his hand over your mouth to silence you, while he narrowed his eyes at the door of your hotel room.

You pulled his hand away from your mouth and turned around. “What?” you whispered in his ear.

“Someone has been in our room,” he whispered back.

“How do you know?” You looked at the door as well, but it didn’t look any different to you. It was the same as it had been that morning.

“Act like you didn’t notice anything,” he continued, ignoring your question. “I’ll check the room for cameras.” 

“Right…” 

You were about to step away from him to open the door, but he stopped you. You gave him a questioning stare. “Now what?” 

He didn’t say anything and pulled you close, pressing his mouth against yours in a passionate kiss. Your eyes widened in surprise. What the hell was he doing? You pressed your hands against his chest to push him away, but then you heard the footsteps approaching in the hallway. The next moment, Heero slid his key-card through the slot. The door opened, and you knew you had no choice but to kiss him back. If there were any cameras in the room, it would be very weird if you pushed away your ‘husband’ when he was kissing you. Not to mention the person walking down the hallway would see it as well. You wrapped your arms around his neck, your eyes sliding shut with surrender. No matter how much you didn’t want to be kissed by Heero Yuy, he was still a frigging expert at it, so you might as well enjoy it. You allowed him to back you up into the room. He kicked the door shut and you heard his key card land on the carpet. One of his hands buried itself in your hair, while the other tightened around your waist. He broke the kiss and pressed his face against your neck.

“Grab a change of clothes,” he whispered quietly.

“Alright.” You smiled and stepped back. 

You made your way over to the closet, and looked around the room in what you hoped was a casual way. On first sight, nothing seemed out of place. You opened the closet, and took your time in choosing an outfit. You noticed that your underwear was in disarray, and some of your dresses were not hanging in their original place. Someone had been in your room and had searched through your stuff. You knew they couldn’t have found anything on your laptop, as Heero had added another layer of coding to the files on the mission. The safe containing your badges and weapons had been left untouched in its place in the closet.

“Still no cameras,” Heero said from behind you.

You breathed a sigh of relief and turned around. “Good. Then I’m going to take a shower.” 

You walked past him and into the bathroom. You could feel his eyes on you the whole time, and your stomach quivered with nerves. You shut the door and locked it, leaning back against it with a sigh. 

You could still taste him on your lips. You bit your lip as you contemplated what to do. You wondered if the kiss had been really necessary. But all the things Heero did, had a reason. So when he had deemed it necessary to kiss you, it probably had been. You sighed and made your way over to the shower. You turned it on and undressed yourself, before stepping under the warm spray.

You felt confused. You didn’t know what to do anymore. You thought the situation was getting out of hand. You started to hope that somehow, the woman would reveal herself to be the one who had been responsible for the disappearances of the ESUN politicians, so you could go home early. You had to get back to your normal life, where Heero Yuy was just a colleague. 

After your shower, you got dressed in a nice black cocktail dress, and then headed back into the bed room. Heero looked up from his laptop when you entered the room, and he raised an eyebrow in question.

“I promised you I would buy you dinner,” you reminded him.

“Right.” He sounded distracted.

“What are you doing?” you asked him.

“I just got an email from Sam. She sent me some additional information she got from relatives from the last disappeared politician,” Heero said.

You sat down next to him, while rubbing your hair dry with your towel. “And?”

“He called his sister on the day he disappeared,” he explained. “She just remembered he told her he was going to visit some underwater caves.”

“I knew it!” you exclaimed. “I’ll find out which excursion it was.” 

Heero gave you a small smile. “I think we have done enough for today. You can do your research tomorrow.” 

“But…”

He shook his head. “Tomorrow. I’m going to take a shower.”

“Alright.” You got up and sat down in front of the vanity.

You heard the door close and froze when you noticed that he didn’t lock the door. Was he….? _No, he must have forgotten it,_ you told yourself. You shouldn’t think about it. 

He was probably undressing himself right now and you could go and sneak a peek… You blushed and caught yourself just in time, before you could start fantasizing about what he looked like naked. The temptation was big but you were stronger!

You combed and blow dried your hair, while opting what to do with it. You decided to leave your hair down, and then hunted for your day cream in the drawer of the vanity. You paled when you remembered you had left it in the bathroom that morning. Your day cream was in the bathroom… where Heero Yuy was currently taking a shower… naked… and you really, **really** needed that cream.

You squeezed your eyes shut. “Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” you groaned through clenched teeth. 

You got up and made your way over to the bathroom door. You raised your hand to knock and hesitated. You pressed your ear against the door and listened. The shower was still running. You pulled back, took a deep breath, and knocked.

“Heero?” you called.

“Yeah?” His voice was muffled by the running water.

“I left my day cream in the bathroom. Can I come in and get it?” you asked, with a furious blush covering your cheeks. You desperately hoped he would tell you not to come in.

“Sure.” 

_Oh crap!_

You swallowed and took a deep breath, before opening the door. The bathroom was filled with steam, and it had fogged the glass of the shower cubicle and the mirror above the sink. You quickly grabbed the jar of day cream from the cabinet above the sink, and turned around to head back into the bedroom. You froze as your eyes were drawn to the shower cubicle. The glass was fogged, so you couldn’t see him, but you could make out his form. You watched as he tilted back his head to rinse soap from his hair. 

Your breath caught in your throat and you quickly tore your eyes away from temptation’s sight. You rushed out of the bathroom and closed the door behind you. You sat down heavily on the stool in front of the vanity, and buried your face in your hands. 

There was no denying it. You wanted him. You were attracted to him, but definitely not on an emotional level. This was purely physical. You wanted to have sex with him. You wanted to put the huge bed in the room to good use, get rid of the tension in your body. Something told you he wouldn’t mind that much.

BUT… Yeah, there was always a ‘but’. Actually there were a few, you reminded yourself sternly. You applied some cream to your face and then started to apply make-up. First of all, he was your partner. You loved your job, so getting involved with him would have a couple of risks. Secondly, you had promised him that you wouldn’t seduce him. Third… you had repeatedly told him that you didn’t want to get involved with him. So… if you made a move on him it would be really weird, right? 

You sighed and put your make-up away. You heard the bathroom door open and Heero came walking into the bedroom. He was wearing dark jeans and a blue button down shirt. He had rolled up the sleeves, displaying toned forearms. When he met your eyes in the mirror of the vanity, you gulped. There was something in his eyes that made butterflies explode in your stomach. You could feel the tension in the air as you got up, and made your way over to the closet to grab a cardigan and a pair of black high heeled sandals. 

“Are you ready?” Heero asked.

“Almost.” You grabbed a handbag from a shelve and put your wallet inside it. 

He was watching you. You could feel his eyes on you, his stare burning and heavy. It made you very much aware of him. And of yourself. 

You gave him a small smile. “Let’s go.” 

He took your hand in his and let you out of the room. You bit your lip when he entwined his fingers with yours. “Where do you want to go?” 

“Wanna check out that place I was talking about earlier?” you asked.

You had noticed the restaurant the day before. You had fallen in love with the charming ambiance of it, and you wanted to go there. 

“You look nice, by the way,” he murmured as you stepped into the elevator.

You blushed at his compliment. “Thanks.” 

You left the hotel grounds and set course for the restaurant. 

“We’re not being followed this time,” Heero said after a while.

You grinned at him. “Maybe she decided to give up?”

“There was nothing in our room that could have given us away,” he said. “And she couldn’t have found anything in our bags on the boat.”

“I know,” you said with a smile.

You reached the restaurant. It was a lovely traditional building with a large patio, where you could eat outside. The waiter gave you a table on the patio, under a small gazebo, which was covered with rose bushes. It was terribly romantic and you were glad that the patio was faintly lit. You didn’t want Heero to see that you were blushing. 

You shared idle conversation during dinner, and you enjoyed yourself immensely. It was like that time when you had invited him over for dinner and you relaxed at the familiar situation. On the patio, a band started to set up. You watched them tune their instruments for a while, and then turned your attention back to Heero.

“Why did you become a Preventer?” you asked him, after sipping your wine.

Heero shrugged. “I have tried to live a normal life, but I guess it’s not really my thing.”

“So then you came back to Brussels?” 

He nodded before meeting your eyes. “What about you?”

“I don’t know… It certainly wasn’t what I had in mind when I was in high school,” you said with a small smile. “But I was pretty handy with a computer, so one of my teachers advised me to apply for the academy.”

“And you did?”

“I was pretty hesitant at first,” you admitted. “But then I met Sam and Michelle. They persuaded me, and now I’m here.” 

He was gazing with you with that unreadable expression of his, and you wondered what he was thinking. You met his eyes, but started to feel a little shy when he didn’t look away. The band was done tuning their instruments and they started playing a salsa song. You tore your eyes away from Heero’s to watch other guests at the restaurants getting up to dance. 

You smiled and turned your attention back to Heero again. “I picked a good restaurant,” you said.

“I guess you did.” His lips tilted into a small smile. The look in his eyes was still unreadable, but so damn intense, and you felt yourself getting lost in the blue depts. 

You finished your dinner and the waiter invited you to have a drink at the bar. You gave Heero a questioning stare. You weren’t sure if you should drink that much while being on a mission, but Heero didn’t seem to mind. He got up and gave you a challenging look. Your last reservations disappeared at that look and you grinned at him, before getting up as well. You followed the waiter to the bar, which was located at the edge of the patio. Once you got there, Heero wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled your towards him. 

“I’ll pay for the drinks,” he said with a small smirk.

You raised and eyebrow at him and smiled coyly. “Really now? In that case I’ll have…” you trailed off, as you thought about what you wanted to drink. “A Mai Tai.”

While Heero ordered your drink and a double vodka, you played with the collar of his shirt. He had left the top buttons undone, displaying his collar bone. You thought his skin looked damn tantalizing and you felt your mouth run dry. Becoming a bit more daring, you trailed your fingers over the smooth skin, dipping under the shirt’s collar to touch his neck. Your eyes were drawn to the faint marks you found there. You had left them there, you remembered. Heero pressed a glass with your drink into your hand, and raised his hand to caress your jaw line. You smiled up at him and raised your glass, touching it against his. 

“To what should we drink?” you asked him.

“To us? We’re on our honeymoon after all.” His tone was amused.

A bubble of laughter escaped you. “To us then.” 

You sipped your drink and closed your eyes at the rich taste of the cocktail. This was good, you decided. You needed to loosen up a bit more, relax a bit more. From the moment he had stepped out of the bathroom with that look in his eyes, you knew that there was no going back. The tension hanging between the two of you was proof of that. You knew what would happen later tonight. And you didn’t even know if you could stop it, didn’t even know if you wanted to stop it. 

Heero’s free hand rested on the small of your back and he pressed you closer towards him. You felt heat rise to your cheeks when he leaned in and nuzzled your hair. His hand slid up to your shoulders, which your dress left bare. You shivered as his fingers tickled over your skin. 

“Are you cold?” he asked. His voice had become husky.

“No.” You shook your head and took another sip of your cocktail. 

You enjoyed your drink, relaxing more as the alcohol kicked in. You weren’t drunk, but at least a bit tipsy. You heard Heero put his glass down on the bar. You put yours next to his and gave him a smile. His lips tilted in response.

“Do you want to dance?” he asked.

You grinned at him. “Sure.” 

You took his hand and allowed him to lead you back onto the patio. He pulled you onto the dance floor, and once again amazed you by matching every step you took. His arm snaked around your waist and pulled you closer. 

You gazed up at his face and grinned at him. “You continue to amaze me.” 

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said with a smirk.

The passionate beat of the music echoed the beating of your heart, the pulsing of desire in your blood. You no longer denied the fact that you wanted Heero, and you embraced it willingly. You met his gaze with a challenging look and you watched as his eyes heated to the familiar inferno. Your breath caught in your throat. 

The band finished the song and started another, a much slower one. You allowed Heero to pull you closer and wrapped your arms around his neck. He pressed his forehead against your temple. He led you into a rumba and you smiled in delight. It was one of your favorite dances. His hand was warm on the small of your back, through the fabric of your dress. 

He spun you away and pulled you back, his eyes never leaving yours as he did so. You gasped when he dipped you; the familiar gesture made memories of the night in the club spin into your mind. When he pulled you up you couldn’t help but press close to him, your arms around his neck and your face only a few inches from his. His hand came up to caress your cheek, and your eyes slid shut at the tickling sensation his fingers caused. You opened your mouth to speak, but he pressed his fingers over your lips to silence you.

“Don’t,” he murmured, while curling his fingers around your chin. 

You stopped dancing and gazed up at him, his eyes holding yours captive. You held your breath in anticipation, waiting for him to make the first move. Your eyes slid shut the moment he lowered his head. His lips brushed against yours in a teasing caress. You buried both your hands in his hair and pulled him closer, urging him to kiss you more firmly. He did and you held onto him tightly as his tongue plundered your mouth. Your knees buckled as his tongue brushed against yours, but he was there to hold you up, his arms strong around you. 

He broke the kiss and made you look at him by cupping your cheek. “Let’s go.”

You nodded and followed him back to the bar. You fumbled with your purse when you wanted to get out your wallet. Heero grabbed your hand and shook his head. 

You opened your mouth to protest. “But I-”

“I said I would pay for the drinks,” he said, while handing the waiter his credit card. 

-x-x-x-

You gasped as Heero tumbled onto the bed with you, his weight pressing you into the mattress. His face was pressed against your neck, his lips hot against your skin as he pressed wet kisses against the tender flesh. Your hands fisted in the fabric of his shirt and you tugged on it, indicating that you wanted him to take it off.

He shifted and sat up. You helped him unbutton the shirt, pushed it off his shoulders and then sat up to press kisses against the hard planes of his chest. His skin was warm and smooth, and he smelled like soap and man, and that tantalizing lingering scent of cologne. His hands slid over your shoulders to your neck and up into your hair. You tilted back your head and pulled him closer, pressing your mouth against his. His kiss was so urgent, so passionate, you could feel it all the way to your bones. You trembled under his ministrations and felt almost helpless with the force of your own passion. You pressed your hands against his chest, broke the kiss, and pushed him backwards.

His lips twisted into a small smirk when you straddled him, your legs sliding along his hips. The fabric of his jeans felt rough against the skin of your thighs, but you ignored it and leaned down to kiss him again. One of his hands tangled in your hair, while the other slipped under the hem of your dress to grab your hip. He was thoroughly plundering your mouth and you knew you were fighting a losing battle. He started tugging on your dress and you broke the kiss. 

“Take it off,” he murmured. His voice held the same husky tone it had held during the night in the club. 

You sat up and pulled the dress up over your head. You flung it away, and grinned down at him when you noticed his eyes darkened, as he took in what you were wearing underneath the dress. He sat up and kissed your breast through the swirls of black lace of your bra. You gasped as he sucked on your nipple through the delicate material, shivers of pleasure rippling through your body. A quiet chuckle escaped him when you buried your hands in his hair, and he kissed his way up your neck to your ear. He nibbled on your earlobe, while his hands slid up your back to play with the clasp of your bra. 

His hands felt like fire against your skin, setting it ablaze with a tantalizing awareness of him and the heath of his body. You strained against him, sought his mouth for another deep kiss. He tugged at your bottom lip with his teeth when you pulled back to look at him. You shifted, wanting and needing to be closer to him. His jeans were really getting in the way, so you pushed him onto his back again and slid backwards, your hands finding the fastening of his jeans. He helped you push them down his hips and quickly rolled you onto your back. He kicked his jeans away and then lowered himself down on top of you. 

You gasped and moaned when his arousal pressed against your core through thin layers of underwear, and you arched up against him, pressing closer, needing him more than you dared to admit. His hands slid behind your back and unclasped your bra. He dropped it on the ground and kissed the skin he had just revealed. You bit down on your hand to keep yourself from moaning. He was making your mind spin and you couldn’t do a damn thing about it. His hands were just as hurried as his mouth, exploring your body, sliding down to your hips, where he found more of that delicate lace. He kissed his way down your stomach and tugged your thong down your hips.

“Heero…” you gasped as you realized what he was going to do. Didn’t he realize that you were desperate for him, that you needed him now?

He gazed up at you through his bangs, his eyes burning with lust. You curled your fingers around his neck and urged him up, meeting his mouth with your own. You quickly pushed his boxers down his hips, and he moved away from you for a moment to take them off. He grabbed your legs and pulled you close to him once more, and you wrapped your legs around his waist. He sucked in breath through his teeth and moved his grasp from your legs to your hips, holding you still. He pulled back slightly and gazed down at you.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

You scowled at him and tightened your hold on him. “Do you need to ask?” 

He chuckled and pressed his mouth against yours. You could feel him position himself and then he was filling you. You broke away from the kiss and threw back your head, a moan escaping you. His lips and tongue teased along the skin of your throat, his hand cradling the back of your head. He shifted and started to move inside of you. His pace was fast and almost brutal, but it was what you needed and you raised your hips to meet each of his trusts. Waves of pleasure washed over you and you gasped for breath. You felt like you couldn’t get enough air into your lungs, like you were going to faint from the sheer pleasure.

Your hands grabbed hold of his shoulders, which were starting to get slick with a light sheen of sweat. His skin glistened in the moonlight that fell through the window. His eyes were like liquid fire, and you felt utterly lost in him as he kept you captive with his gaze. Your eyes drifted shut when he changed his angle, increasing the waves of pleasure that were already drowning you. Your orgasm took you by surprise still, and you threw back your head at the sheer the force of it, a cry escaping you as shudders racked your body, finally soothing the sexual tension you had felt for the past few days. 

It didn’t take long for Heero to follow you, and you watched with utter fascination as he squeezed his eyes shut, a groan escaping him. The satisfied look on his face was unmistakable. He collapsed on top of you, his labored breath caressing over your collarbone. You wrapped your arms around him, while trying to catch your own breath as well. Your heart still pounded and you wondered if you would ever feel normal again. Somehow you felt altered, changed, and you wondered why.

A sigh escaped him when you ran your hands over his back, and he relaxed completely. You could feel his eyelashes flutter over the skin of your neck as he blinked. He propped himself up on his elbows, so he could look at you. His eyes were heavy lidded with lingering pleasure and the look in them was warm, tender. You felt heath rise to your already flushed cheeks, and tore your gaze away from his. You didn’t want him to look at you like that.

Your gaze snapped back however, when he caressed your cheek. He gave you a small smile. “I was quite rough with you. Are you okay?” 

You nodded. “Yeah.” 

He leaned in for a gentle kiss. Your eyes drifted shut with a sigh. You felt him shift, and then he was withdrawing from your body. It sent tingles through your still sensitive system and you bit down on your bottom lip. He gave you another small smile, before lying down on his side next to you. You pulled the sheets up over your body and stared up at the ceiling. You looked at him when he slipped an arm around your waist. He smirked at you. You blushed again, which caused that smirk to widen. The expression on his face was so damn sexy that you had to swallow. 

“Go to sleep,” he told you.

You shifted onto your side and allowed him to pull you against him, your back pressed against his chest. He slipped a leg between yours and pressed a kiss against your shoulder. You shivered as he kissed his way along your neck, up to your ear. His arm tightened around your waist, and he pressed a kiss against the sensitive skin behind your ear.

“I’m not going to sleep if you keep doing that,” you said, while trying to suppress another shiver.

He chuckled and buried his face in your hair. “Sorry.” 

“Goodnight…” you murmured.

“Hmm…” 

-x-x-x-

You were warm… it felt damn nice and comfortable. You shifted, getting close to the source of the heat and sighed with contentment. How wonderful…

You slowly became more aware of your surroundings and yourself. You opened your eyes, blinking against the bright sunlight that poured through the windows. You had forgotten to close the drapes the night before. You shifted, snuggling deeper into the bed, and closed your eyes again. Next to you, someone shifted and an arm sluggishly wrapped itself around your waist. 

Wait a second… You opened your eyes again and carefully turned around. Next to you Heero woke up. He rolled onto his back, stretching his arms above his head. The sheets slipped down, pooling around his hips. You blushed when you realized that he had to be naked. And you were as well. 

Oh God… Your arms gave out and you collapsed on the bed. You buried your face in your pillow. The memories from the night before surfaced, the passion, the need. You felt your cheeks heat up. _Oh God…_

You felt Heero shift closer and then his lips brushed over your ear. “What are you doing?” His voice was rough from sleep. 

It took all of your courage to lift your head from the pillow to face him. “I was hiding.” 

He was lying on his side, facing you, and he didn’t seem bothered by the fact that he was displaying so much skin. You kept your gaze locked on his face, not willing to get distracted. He reached out and caressed your cheek. “Why?” 

You swallowed. How could you possibly say this without hurting his feelings? If he had any… He had. You knew it. You had seen it in his eyes the night before, and it had scared the hell out of you. You desperately wanted to run. What had made you behave in such an unprofessional way in the first place? Had you lost your mind? 

“Are you regretting what happened?” he asked.

“I… It shouldn’t have happened,” you said.

“You keep saying that.” 

His blunt statement made you scowl, but you knew that he was right. 

“I know,” you said quietly, while looking away from him. “But I…” 

His fingers danced along your jaw line again, making you look at him again. “Are you really that afraid to lose your job?” 

You sat up, careful to keep the sheets pressed against your body. His hand dropped to the mattress. You couldn’t think with him touching you. “I don’t want to be court-martialed for my unprofessional behavior.”

He sighed and gave you an incredulous stare. “You forget I’m just as guilty as you are. And I am not going to tell.” 

“Neither will I.” You ran your hand through your hair. “But still…” 

He raised an eyebrow. You almost missed the gesture, because his bangs spilled over his forehead. “But still what? You wouldn’t have been bothered by it, if we hadn’t been assigned as partners?” 

“I wouldn’t have been bothered by it, if we hadn’t been colleagues at all,” you deadpanned.

“But it still happened.” He folded his hands behind his head, looking utterly relaxed and calm, not at all bothered with the whole situation. “And you weren’t drunk.” 

You gave him a chagrined stare. “I know that.” 

“Then why did you sleep with me?” he asked.

You gaped at him. Did he seriously think you would answer that question? Something in his gaze changed, heated with anger. 

You raised a trembling hand to your face and rubbed your forehead. “I don’t know…” 

“Of course you do,” he said, while sitting up as well. 

You shook your head. “Can we talk about this later?” 

“No.” He was pretty determined not to let you get away without answering him. 

To your utter embarrassment, you felt tears come up and you blinked rapidly to keep them at bay, hanging your head, so your hair shielded your face. You didn’t want to cry about your own stupidity in front of him. 

“I’m sorry,” you whispered.

He reached out and pushed your hair back, so he could see your face. His fingers curled around your chin, tipping your head up. He gazed into your eyes, and you knew he could see the unshed tears. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he said. His voice carried a warm undertone.

“No, I…” You shook your head and pressed your hand over your eyes as you felt the first tear escape.

He pulled you towards him and into his arms. You wanted to struggle, but being held and comforted by him felt so good, you couldn’t find the will to do so. Instead, you buried your face into his shoulder and wrapped your arms around him. He lay back on the mattress, cuddling you into his side. He wrapped one arm around your waist, and used his free hand to caress you hair. You held onto him tightly, trying to keep yourself from sobbing. You felt bad enough already for crying all over him. You didn’t understand why he was so willing to deal with you. 

“I’m sorry,” you whispered again.

“It’s okay.” His hold on you tightened and you sighed.

“It’s just that I am very confused right now.” You kept your face pressed against his shoulder, not willing to face him just yet.

The hand that had been caressing your hair skimmed over you back. “I understand.” 

Gradually, you started to calm down and you shifted, so you could rest your head on his chest. “I need time.”

His chest expanded as he took a deep breath, expelled it. “Alright.”

You sat up, keeping the sheet pressed against you and gave him a small smile. “Thanks.”

“On one condition though.”

You smile disappeared. Why couldn’t he just let it go and give you control of the situation? “And that is?”

“That you promise me that we’ll talk, after the mission has ended.” His eyes were dead serious and you swallowed heavily.

“Alright,” you managed to get out.

He reached out to touch your cheek. You backed away from him and pulled the sheet with you. He sat up and watched you, as you got out of bed and wrapped the sheet around your body. You were careful to keep your back to him, so you wouldn’t be tempted to look behind you to see him sitting there, completely exposed. You grabbed your robe and quickly fled into the bathroom. It was time to get back into your professional mode. 

-x-x-x-

Despite your wetsuit, you shivered in the moist air of the underwater cave, and watched Heero explore the rocky crevices with his flashlight. You felt really uncomfortable. You had always been a bit claustrophobic and it always struck when you really didn’t need it. Like now, in the dark and cold confinements of a cave that could only be reached through a diving expedition.

“This is the cave that is used for tourist excursions?” Heero asked, his voice echoing off the moist walls.

“Y-yeah…” you said, hating the fact that your voice sounded so small. “There is another one close by, but they don’t use it because it is so small.”

He gave you a scrutinizing stare, and you forced yourself to forget about your silly fears. You didn’t want him to think you were weak. 

“We’ll go and check that one out.” Heero turned around and made his way back to you. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fi-” You were cut off when you felt a painful prick in the back of your neck. You reached for the sore spot and found a syringe embedded in the skin there. Your eyes widened. You felt the effect of the drug almost immediately. Black spots danced in front of your vision and you blindly reached out for your partner. “Heero… compromised.”

Heero wrapped his arm around your waist to steady you, his eyes darting around frantically, looking for your attacker. His free hand made a grab for the gun at his belt. Your heard him grunt when your attacker shot him as well. Your knees buckled, and you dropped to the rocky surface of the cave’s floor. You heard Heero’s flashlight tumble to the floor, and then he was kneeling down next to you. He rested his hand on your shoulder.

“Are you… alright?” He was stronger, so it took longer for the drug to affect him. “-Y/N-?”

“I…” you managed weakly. “Yes.”

His hand trembled on your shoulder. “Don’t panic when you wake up.”

You blinked against the hazy feeling in your head. You were losing consciousness and you were afraid.

“I’ll save you,” Heero murmured quietly. “I promise.”

He collapsed beside you, his arm draped over your shoulders. He was blinking rapidly, trying to stay awake. You clumsily reached out, searching for his free hand. He grabbed hold of your hand and entwined your fingers with his.

“It will be alright…” he promised.

You heard footsteps approach; your attackers were close by. You felt dizzy, and had a hard time focusing on what happened around you. Heero pulled you closer towards him, and you were glad when he was able to firmly wrap his arm around you. You needed his closeness and reassurance that everything would be alright, even if you were about to be abducted by people who had made three important politicians disappear. 

Heero’s scent washed over you, comforting you, and you finally gave up fighting the need to close your eyes. Everything went black…

-x-x-x-

_Don’t panic when you wake up…_

Heero’s words drifted through your mind when you struggled to open your eyes. Your head hurt so badly. What the hell had they done to you? What kind of drug had they used? It felt like your brain was trying to split itself in two. 

You kept your eyes closed for a little while longer, giving the pretense that you were still unconscious. You concentrated on the sounds around you. You heard the ticking of stiletto heels against a wooden floor. That meant you weren’t in the cave anymore. You heard voices speaking in rapid Spanish, one was female, the other male. Footsteps left the room. The ticking of the stiletto heels continued. The man had left, the woman had remained.

You slowly opened your eyes and blinked, trying to clear the haze in front of your vision. Your attackers had taken off your wetsuit, leaving you in your bikini and you had been bound to a chair. Your hands were tied behind you, around the back of the chair. The rope they had used was thick, an the not didn’t feel tight. Your legs weren’t bound and you that made you wonder if your attackers knew that you and Heero were Preventers. Probably not by the looks of it. 

You were in a room with a wooden floor, and when you glanced around, you noticed that you were on a boat. Every window showed you that you were surrounded by water.

Heero was lying on his back on a table in front of you. He, too, was missing his wetsuit and you felt heat rise to your cheeks as you looked him over. Damn it, the man really had a fine body. He wasn’t injured and that was good, you decided. He was still unconscious, or at least, you thought he was. You had heard the stories about Heero’s abilities. He could wake up and keep his brain activity and heart rate low, not giving away anything to his captors. You had also heard that he could bend steel with his bare hands, so the leather straps they had used to bind him to the table wouldn’t hold if he decided to escape. 

Why the hell had they strapped him to a table? 

“I see you have woken up.” The female voice drew your attention away from Heero. The woman who had been following you around stepped in front of you. 

You tried to act like you were very confused, keeping up the pretense that you were just a tourist. “What is going on?”

She chuckled. “Why don’t you guess?”

You struggled against your bonds, hoping to loosen them up a bit. “Please, let me go!”

At that moment, Heero opened his eyes and shot you a sharp look behind the woman’s back. It was clear he had been awake for some time. You stopped struggling and kept your eyes glued to Heero’s. The woman turned around and a smirk appeared on her face.

“Now… look at that.” She sound appreciative as she sauntered over towards the table and reached out to trail a manicured nail down Heero’s chest. He gave her an icy glare, but her smirk only widened. She turned her head to watch you. “Don’t you think your husband is a little too handsome for you?”

You narrowed your eyes. “Excuse me?”

She chuckled. “I think I’m going to keep him.”

This woman really had to be a crazy bitch. She didn’t know you and Heero were Preventers, and she had only kidnapped you and your partner, just because she thought he was hot?!? What the hell?!?

“I don’t think so,” you told her coolly. “He is going back with me.”

She chuckled again. “Really now? What are you going to do about the fact that you are tied to a chair?”

Tied in such a way it was easy to escape. You wiggled your hands behind your back and felt the rope loosen a bit. Alright, the beginning was there.

“You just wait…” you ground out.

“I’ll enjoy myself first…” She turned her attention back to Heero and circled the table. 

She halted behind the table and trailed her fingers over Heero’s chest. You watched with growing irritation as she ran her fingers down his stomach to the waistband of his swim shorts. Heero stared impassively towards the ceiling, not giving any reaction to her touch. While her attention was on Heero, you glanced around the room once more. On a nearby table was a gun. If you were quick enough you could grab it once you escaped from the chair. You’d shoot the bitch and free Heero. You had to act quickly, because there was still at least one more person on the boat. 

“Pay attention, will you?” the woman told you with a cool stare in your direction.

You glared at her as she hopped onto the table and straddled Heero’s hips. “Get the hell away from him!”

What the fuck was she doing? 

“Jealous aren’t you?” She leaned forward and caressed Heero’s cheek. 

He was still staring at the ceiling, acting like he didn’t care what the hell the woman was doing with his body. But you could see his biceps bulging against his restraints, making you realize that he was trying to break his bonds. You struggled with the rope around your wrists, and felt a feeling of triumph when you felt it loosen enough for you to free your wrists. 

You took a deep breath. Alright… you could do this. You kept your hands behind your back to keep up the pretense of still being tied to the chair. You cleared your throat and caught the woman’s attention. Heero gave you a questioning glance. You relaxed your shoulders to show him that you had managed to free yourself, but kept your eyes on the woman.

“What are you planning on doing with us after you have had your fun?” you asked her.

“I’ll dispose of you and keep your husband a little while longer.” She gave you a cool smirk.

“You really think you’re though, don’t you?” you asked her with a taunting undertone in your voice.

She glared at you. “I’ve killed three politicians, so you better keep your mouth shut.”

You smirked gleefully at her confession. “You should do your research better.”

She huffed and turned her attention back to Heero. He was staring at the ceiling again. You waited, until you were certain she wasn’t paying attention to you. She leaned forward, completely concentrated on trying to kiss Heero, and then you moved. You made a dive for the gun on the table, grabbed hold of it, and rolled behind a couch, groaning as the actions send your head spinning with dizziness. The woman jumped and cursed, when she noticed you had escaped. You blinked to clear your vision and checked if the gun was loaded and sighed in relief when you found bullets inside the chamber. She really had planned to kill you. Well… her own gun would be used against her now…

You straightened slowly and aimed the gun at her head. “Get the hell off of him.”

She chuckled. “Do you know how to use it?”

You clicked off the safety and gave her a cool smile. “I do. Like I said, you should have done your research better.”

She swallowed. “What do you mean?”

You heard the straps around Heero’s wrist tear and the next moment he threw the woman off of him. She landed on the floor with a yelp. Heero was quick to jump from the table and grab her ankle before she could get away. 

“Don’t you dare to move. You’re under arrest for the murder on three politicians and the abduction of two Preventer agents,” he told her coldly.

You moved around the couch and stepped up next to Heero. You kept the gun pointed at the woman’s head. She was laughing hysterically. “I knew it…”

Heero gave you a look that told you he thought the bitch was a nutcase. 

“I knew!” she yelled when Heero hauled her off the floor. “You’re too ugly to be his wife.”

You glared at her and pressed the gun against her head. “Say that again and I’ll blow your brains out, you psycho.”

“Ugly bitch!”

“Careful with what you say,” Heero hissed in her ear. “She might actually do what she promised. And I won’t stop her.”

The bitch shut up after that. Heero pushed her onto the chair you had been bound to earlier and used to robe to tie her wrists.

“You better make sure she can’t escape,” you said with a smile.

“I know my knots.”

“Right.”

“There is at least one more person on this boat,” he told you. 

“Yeah, and we only have one gun.”

“You’ll keep the gun,” he said, while straightening.

“But-” 

He gave you a cool stare that told you not to argue with him. “I’ll manage, okay.”

“Sometimes I forget who I’m dealing with,” you told him. “I’ll watch your back.”

He gave you the barest hint of a smile. “I can live with that.”

You followed him out of the room. The boat you were on, was a small yacht and there weren’t many rooms to hide in. You and Heero carefully checked each room and found all of them empty. The only room left was the control room. Heero carefully pushed open the door and you watched as he peered around the doorpost. He signaled for you to take a look as well.

You looked inside the room and the sight you found there almost made you snort. Really, you just caught a bunch of very unprofessional criminals. You found the man you had heard leave the room earlier in a chair, snoring away with an empty glass and a half full bottle of Jack Daniels on the table next to him. 

“Are these people serious?” you whispered.

Heero shot you a smirk, and you almost got distracted by the sexy twist of his lips. “I’m starting to wonder if they actually knew how to use the gun.”

You giggled. “Alright. Let’s wake him up.”

Heero cleared his throat and the man jerked awake in his chair. He gave you both a blurry eyed stare, before quickly scrambling up. He almost tipped over, but managed the steady himself by leaning against the table. 

“You’re under arrest,” Heero said dryly. 

The man’s eyes widened and he quickly darted towards the door. Did he actually think he could pass by in his drunken state? You stuck out your foot and he tripped, landing in the door opening. 

“Keep him under shot. I’ll find something to tie him up with.” Heero stepped into the control room and opened a couple of cabinets. 

Your eyes brightened when you caught sight of a jar with painkillers. That would surely take care of your nagging headache. Heero dug up another piece of rope and tied the man’s arms behind his back. He then dragged him into an empty room and left him there. You took a couple of painkillers in the meantime and then set out to pinpoint your exact location. You were a good few miles from the shoreline in the open sea. It would take at least an hour for you to get back. 

Heero came walking into the control room again and you pointed towards the jar with painkillers. “That drug had a nasty after taste.”

“I’m good,” he told you.

“We are an hour away from shore,” you said, while leaning back against the wall. 

“We’ll get there.” Heero made his way over to the boat’s wheel and started the engine. 

You sat down next to him and sighed. “It’s almost disappointing how easy it was to catch them.”

Heero chuckled. “They must have had a lot of luck on their side with the abduction of those politicians.”

“Will we ever know what happened to them?” you asked.

Heero looked at you. “If they talk we will.”

Your breath left your lungs in a relieved rush and you gave him a small smile. “Good.”

“You weren’t really panicking in there, right?” he asked after a while.

“No.” You crossed your arms over your chest and leaned back in your seat. “It was just an act. I was testing the rope.”

“Aah…” He sounded relieved.

“What? Were you worried?” you teased him.

“Of course I was.” The look he gave you was so earnest, your smile disappeared. 

“From the moment I saw that they had strapped you to the table with leather straps I knew escaping would be easy,” you admitted. “I have heard the stories about you.”

“Not all stories are true,” he said dryly.

“Really now? What about the one where you bent steel with your bare hands?”

“True.”

“Your ability to keep your heart rate and brain activity low?”

“True as well. What else have you heard?”

“Nothing much really. I’m not one to gossip about others. Tell me something that is not true then.” You gave him a challenging look.

You had to be in control of the conversation. You had an hour to kill and you didn’t want to talk about what had happened the night before. 

“People say I’m dense when it comes to women. That’s not true.”

You snorted. “Right…”

He grinned at you. “Don’t think I don’t notice the way some women react towards me. I just pretend to be dense, so they’ll leave me alone.”

“Even Duo says you’re dense.” 

“Duo talks a bunch of crap most of the time. You shouldn’t take anything he says that seriously. And besides… I certainly wasn’t dense when it came to you,” he said.

You blushed and tore your gaze away from his. “We agreed we would talk about that later.”

“Sorry.”

“So… are there any other stories about you that are not true?” you asked.

“I am not dating the Vice Foreign Minister. I never have and I never will.” He said it with so much conviction you had no choice but to believe him. 

“Why not?” you asked, feeling curious. 

You didn’t know Relena that well, but you knew that she had a thing for Heero, and you had always thought that he felt the same way about her. But really… if he had, would he had slept with you then?

“I don’t want a woman that places me on a pedestal to worship,” he said with a shrug. “And besides that… she’s not my type.”

You caught the underlying meaning in his words and felt your cheeks heat up once more. “I see…”

Really, he had to stop hinting at a relationship. You already were so damn confused, you didn’t know your own feelings anymore, and he didn’t need to add to it. A few days away from him was what you needed, you decided. You could get your thoughts in order and think of a way to withstand the temptation that he was. And then after that, you could write your report and be around him in a purely professional way. 

You reached the shore about an hour later. During the trip you had contacted the local Preventer station and a couple of agents had come to pick up the captured criminals. They would be send to Brussels for interrogation and put in jail for a long time. You were glad you had helped capture them. The area would be a lot safer without them. After the local agents took your statements, you could go back to your hotel, where you contacted Une about the mission’s success. She ordered you to fly home immediately, so you quickly went to pack your suitcase. 

“We’ll take a Preventer shuttle to get back to Brussels,” Heero told you, while zipping up his bag.

“Nice.” You grinned at him. “That means we’ll be home sooner!”

Preventer shuttles were always faster than regular air planes, and you didn’t have to go through all the security checks at the airport. It meant being home sooner and being away from Heero sooner. 

It was time to get your thoughts straight. No more unprofessional behavior when it came to Heero Yuy…

**\- End part 2 - ******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this part! Please let me now what you think of it!
> 
> I’ve started a little blog on Tumblr to collect everyone’s favorite Gundam Wing memories in one place! Check it out and contribute! :) The blog is called Memories of Gundam Wing! There is also a link on my profile page!


	3. Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for an update on this one! I hope you’ll enjoy it! :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing, its characters, or you.

**Every Moment  
Part 3**

_Cafeteria at the Preventer HQ, Brussels, AC 203_

“So… All settled in again?” Sam asked you over lunch, a week after you had returned from your mission in Mexico.

You thought of the hours it had cost you to get all your stuff back into your office, and nodded with a smile. “I am.”

“So really, what interesting habits does Heero have?” Michelle asked you with a grin.

“Why don’t you ask Duo?” you said with a smirk. “He has known Heero since they were fifteen, so he should be able to tell you lots of interesting things.”

“Duo doesn’t have a woman’s eyes, so he won’t notice… you know, _interesting_ things,” Michelle said matter-of-factly. “I want to know what you have seen.”

You rolled your eyes. “Nothing interesting.”

“So he really is as professional as everyone says?” Sam asked.

You nodded. On the outside you seemed calm, but on the inside you were trembling like a leaf. You didn’t want to talk about Heero or the ‘interesting’ things you had seen. You had almost started to forget about them. Almost… _damn it_. You had been able to successfully avoid him for the past week, and thus avoided _the talk_. You didn’t want to talk about what happened. It had been a mistake and it could never happen again. It would never happen again. 

But you still had to write a report on the mission, and Heero had told you that he wanted to write it together. So you had no choice but to go see him this week. You would go utterly prepared, keep your thoughts on the report alone, and you would leave afterwards. No friendly words, no promises of sitting down for the talk. Nothing. You had it all planned out, but carrying out the plan could go completely different if Heero decided to corner you in his office of something like that. But if he tried you would find an excuse to leave. 

“Hi ladies!” Duo joined you at the table and gave you a grin. “How’s it going?”

“You asked me the same thing this morning,” you said dryly.

“I know.” Duo shrugged. “But I guess I can’t ask enough.”

Sam giggled. “How sweet of you.”

Duo gave her a cheeky grin. “I know I’m sweet alright.”

Michelle choked on her milk. “Stop bragging about yourself, you idiot.”

You chuckled, before sipping your own milk. “Don’t worry, Duo. It won’t make us dislike you.”

“Heero asked me to tell you he wants to start on the report this afternoon,” Duo told you.

“Couldn’t he have come to my office and ask me himself?” you wondered.

“He has been in meetings all morning and passed me in the hallway,” Duo said. 

“I see…” You sighed and looked at your unfinished lunch. 

For some reason, the sandwiches didn’t look appealing. You had lost your appetite after the mission and you blamed it on the abduction. It must have shocked you more than you had first thought. You had talked to Une about it and she had told you to take a few days off after you had written the report. Afterwards, she wanted you to see the department’s shrink. 

“I better go and see if he is in his office then,” you said, while standing up.

“But you haven’t finished your lunch yet!” Michelle protested. “Damn it, -Y/N-. You gotta eat!”

“I know. I’ll finish eating those during the writing of the report,” you told her.

She seemed satisfied with that and let you leave without further questions. You left the cafeteria and dumped your sandwiches in the first trashcan you passed. You would cook yourself a healthy meal in the evening to make up for the missed lunch.

You took the elevator to the floor where Heero’s office was located, and tried to calm the nerves you felt. It was ridiculous, you told yourself. You were a grown woman, you could deal with him. You walked towards Heero’s office, and found Sheila perched on the edge of his desk, smiling coyly at Heero, who was seated in his office chair. You felt disgusted and nauseated at once, and were about to turn around. They hadn’t noticed you yet, so you could slip out of the office and pretend you were never there. Then Sheila could go and seduce Heero for all she was worth. But the idea of them together made you sick. And you didn’t understand why.

Heero’s eyes caught yours and something warmed slightly in the blue depts.

“-Y/N-, I was expecting you,” he said. 

You swallowed and nodded. “Duo told me you wanted to start on the report.”

“Yeah. Take a seat.” He gestured to one of the empty chairs in front of his desk.

You pulled it around his desk, so you could sit beside him. Sheila got up from Heero’s desk and gave him a dazzling smile. “I’ll be back later then.”

He didn’t say anything in return, and it gave you a vague feeling of satisfaction. All his attention was focused on you now. You presented him the camera you had brought with you on the mission. All the pictures you had taken would serve as evidence. 

“Have you sent copies of those pictures to the local Preventers in Mexico?” Heero asked you.

“I did. I also sent them all the information I had on the case,” you told him.

“Good.” He gave you a small smile. “Let’s get started then.”

You worked for an hour and a half and made great progress on the report. The statements the local preventers had taken from you were included in the report as well, and you knew you would have a very strong case when the report got presented to Une. You still didn’t know if you had gotten a promotion out of your last presentation, and hoped that this one would get you one.

Heero saved the file on his computer and then turned his head to watch you with a gauging expression. “You look pale.”

“Yeah… I’m going to take a few days off after we finish the report. Une’s orders,” you said quietly. “I’ll be alright. It’s probably the whole abduction thing.”

“I see…” he said.

You could read the concern in his eyes and were quick tear your gaze away from his. “I’ll just sleep for a few days, and then I’ll be as good as new.”

“If you want to, we can work on the report again tomorrow morning,” he offered. “It will save you some time.”

“Thanks.” You gave him a small smile and got up. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

You were about to pull the chair you had sat on around his desk again, but he stopped you by grabbing your hand. You froze and turned your head to watch him. The expression on his face was unreadable and you felt your heart skip a beat. Your stomach contracted with nerves. 

“You promised me something,” he said.

“I know,” you whispered.

“You can’t keep avoiding me forever, -Y/N-.” He gave you a pointed look.

You pulled your hand free. “I told you I need time.”

“I have given you time.”

“A week is not enough,” you countered.

He sighed. “Well… how much more time do you need to figure out what you are feeling?”

You swallowed and shifted your weight from one foot to another. You were starting to feel very uneasy. “I don’t know.”

He got up as well and you resisted the urge to take a step back. He leaned towards you and met your gaze with a heated look. “I’m not a very patient man.”

You refused to feel threatened by his proximity and glared at him. “When I feel like talking, I’ll know where to find you.”

With those words, you turned around and calmly walked out of his office. Sheila looked up from some paperwork she was doing when you passed her desk, but you ignored her. The two of you hadn’t spoken since the incident in the bathroom and you thought it was for the best. You rounded the corner and halted, pressing your back against the wall as you took a few deep breaths. God, why did he have such an effect on you? To your embarrassment, you felt tears come up. You pressed your hand over your eyes to stop them. You didn’t want to cry. Not over him and certainly not now.

You heard high heels ticking on the black marble floor of the hallway. You peered around the corner, and saw Sheila making her way towards Heero’s office. You scowled. Shouldn’t someone tell her that it wasn’t appropriate to flirt during working hours?

_Look who is talking,_ you scolded yourself. _Not only did you flirt, you went the whole way!_

“Heero!” you heard Sheila exclaim. “Are you leaving?”

“Yeah…”

“But why? Isn’t it a little early?”

“I know. I… I don’t need to explain myself to you.” He sounded pissed off.

Wow. That was harsh. You could barely conceal a grin. You saw Heero leave his office and that was when you realized that you were still standing around the corner and that he was going to come your way. You quickly bolted through the doors that led to the staircase. You knew the elevator was going to take too long to get there, and you didn’t want another confrontation with him. You ran down the stairs, towards your own floor and quickly made your way into your office. You collapsed in your office chair and gasped for breath. You felt a little nauseous from running so fast. 

“Why the hurry?” Sam popped up in your doorway.

You pressed a hand over your heart. “It’s nothing.”

She snorted and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. “Right.”

You scowled at her and grabbed your water bottle. You took a sip to soothe your sore throat. Sam seated herself in the chair in front of your desk, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. 

“You don’t eat, you look like shit, and you don’t want to be around Heero,” she said, while summing it all up on her fingers. 

“That is-”

“True,” she finished for you. “So… Are you going to tell me what happened?”

“Nothing happened,” you denied, while giving her a heated look. 

Sam sighed. “I know you two kissed in the club.”

“Who doesn’t?” You crossed your arms over your chest as well, and sighed. “I called him the day afterwards and told him it could never happen again.”

Sam blinked. “And what did he say?”

You rolled your eyes. “Nothing much…”

“And then you went on your mission?” Sam asked. 

“Yes.” Was she interrogating you?

“What happened on the mission?” she asked.

You opened your mouth to speak.

“Don’t you dare lying about it,” she warned you with a sharp look.

You sighed and gave her a look that told her exactly what had happened. Sam’s eyes widened.

“No…” she said. “No, oh no! No, no… My god, -Y/N-! Really?”

Her comical reaction made you giggle. “Yeah.”

“You had sex with **Heero Yuy**?!?”

“Shh!!!” you hissed. “Not so loud!”

Sam fell back in her chair, belting with laughter. “You got to be kidding me!”

“Excuse me! You told me not to lie.” You grinned at her.

It actually felt good to talk about what happened. You needed to talk about it, get it all off your chest. You knew you could trust Sam with your life, and you needed some advice. 

Sam took a deep breath, and then grinned at you. “Is he good in the sack?”

You blushed. “Do you need to ask? We’re talking about Heero Yuy here.”

Sam’s grin widened. “Right… So what happens now?”

“I…” you hesitated. “I promised him we would talk about what happened.”

Sam immediately caught on. “You’re confused.”

“Yes. I don’t know what I feel. I mean… he is nice and I feel attracted to him, but I… God Sam… I don’t know.” You sighed deeply.

“Oh, Sweetie.” Sam got up and made her way around your desk. She pulled you into a hug. “Just give it some time.”

You felt tears come up once more, and buried your face in Sam’s shoulder. “I feel so stupid.”

“It’s alright for you to be confused,” Sam said, while pulling back. She gave you a small smile. 

You sniffed. “I know, but he…”

“He what?” She questioned.

“He wants more, I think,” you said.

“Aah…” She gave you a small smile. “But that’s something you could have expected. Heero isn’t the type for one time things.”

“Damn, don’t you think I know that?” You narrowed her eyes at her, suddenly feeling angry. “You make it sound like I used him.”

She held up her hands in a defensive gesture. “I didn’t mean it like that. Jeez, -Y/N-.”

You sighed. “Sorry. I’m just stressed out. I think the abduction had more effect on me than I initially thought.”

Sam rested a hand on your shoulder. “The abduction, and the fact that Heero’s got the hots for you.”

“That too…” You ran your hands through your hair and slumped in your chair, feeling extremely weary. “I think I’m going home. Hopefully I can finish the report tomorrow, and then I can sleep for a few days.”

“Do that. And if there is anything you need, just call me okay?” Sam said.

You gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks.”

You got up and gathered some of the folders on your desk. You went to put them in a file cabinet, and then grabbed your jacket. 

“We should watch a movie sometime later this week,” you said, while pulling on your jacket.

Sam nodded. “For sure. I’m going back to my office okay?”

You smiled at her. “Right. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She grinned and left your office. With a sigh, you grabbed your bag and checked if all your stuff was inside. You looked up when someone knocked on your door. You froze when you saw it was Heero, your heart skipped a beat, and your breath hitched. Damn it. What was he doing here? Wasn’t he supposed to have left already?

“You forgot this,” he said, while holding up your camera.

“Oh…” You walked over towards him and took your camera, dumping it in your bag, before zipping it up. “Thanks.”

“Are you leaving?” he asked.

“Yeah…” You stepped out of your office and pulled the door shut behind you. You sighed and rubbed your hand over your forehead, before meeting his eyes.

“You look really tired,” Heero said, the barest hint of concern lacing his voice. “Are you good to drive?”

“I’ll be fine.” You gave him a small smile.

He gave you a scrutinizing stare and you narrowed your eyes at him. You weren’t going to let him boss you around. 

With a sigh, he caved. “Alright.”

You walked passed him towards the elevator, not waiting for him to follow you. You needed some space.

-x-x-x-

You woke with a start when your alarm went off, and you blinked heavily against the harsh light that assaulted your vision. You felt terrible. You sat up slowly and felt a wave of nausea hit you with the force of a small tsunami, your stomach rolling uncomfortably. You quickly scrambled out of bed and ran into the bathroom, just in time to reach the toilet. You fell to your knees and emptied your stomach contents violently. You leaned back against the bathtub when you were done, taking deep breaths to keep another wave of nausea at bay. You dragged a hand through your hair, noticing it was soaked with cold sweat. You were sick as a dog, but you needed to finish the report, and so you forced yourself to your feet. 

You quickly brushed your teeth and took a shower, before stumbling back into your bedroom. There, you got dressed and pulled your hair up in a messy bun. You quickly grabbed your workbag and went straight to the front door. You weren’t feeling up for breakfast and were afraid that if you forced yourself to eat, you would throw up again. You would get something in the cafeteria at work when you got hungry. 

Twenty minutes later, you arrived at Preventer Headquarters. Not bothering with checking your office first, you went straight to Heero’s, intent on finishing up the report as fast as possible. Heero looked up from his computer when you entered his office. The small smile he gave you quickly changed into a look of concern when he took in your appearance.

“What are you doing at work if you’re sick?” he asked you.

You narrowed your eyes at him. “I want this report finished. I can go home afterwards.”

“If you say so.”

You dumped your bag close to his desk and pulled a chair over. You sat down next to him and eyed the Starbucks cup on his desk. The smell of coffee made you nauseous again. You took a deep breath, hoping to calm your stomach a little, but the attempt was futile. You quickly got up and darted towards the ladies room, brushing past Sheila as she just left it. You ran into an empty stall and threw up again. You heard the door open behind you.

“-Y/N-?”

You groaned at the sound of Heero’s voice. “Go away!”

You heard him move around, heard water running, and then he was opening the door of the stall. “Here.”

You gave him a grateful look when he offered you a wet cloth. “Thanks.”

You wiped your face and then got up. Your legs felt like jelly and you staggered. Heero steadied you and led you out of the stall. “You should go home.”

You shook your head as you made your way towards the faucet. You rinsed your mouth, before turning around. “I want to finish the report.”

“If you’re so intent on doing that, then I’ll take you home and we’ll finish the report there.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave you a look that dared you to argue with him.

You opened your mouth to protest, but shut it again when you knew he was right. You couldn’t stay at work like this. You sighed and rubbed a hand over your forehead. “Alright.”

You followed him back into his office. Sheila was waiting next to the door, eyeing you suspiciously. You ignored her and grabbed your bag from the floor.

“What’s going on?” Sheila asked.

“-Y/N- is ill, so I’m going to take her home and we’ll finish our report there,” Heero said, while shutting down his computer. “Can you ask Wufei to take over my calls?”

“Sure.” Sheila gave him a sunny smile. She then shot you a glare, and marched out of Heero’s office.

You stuck out your tongue at her back and sighed. “She’s scary.”

“You think she is because you’re not feeling well,” Heero said dryly.

You rolled your eyes and waited for him to grab his belongings. Then he mentioned you to follow him. Together you walked towards the elevator. 

“How did you come to work?” he asked you, while you were waiting for the elevator to arrive.

“I took the subway,” you said.

“Aah…” He gave you a small smile. “Then you probably won’t mind me driving.”

You shook your head and found yourself answering his smile. “No.”

“Good.” 

The elevator arrived and you stepped inside. Heero pushed the button for the parking garage and the doors closed again. You stood there awkwardly, not know what to do or say. Here you were, alone with the man you had slept with two weeks ago, a situation you had been avoiding since your return from your mission. And he was going to take you home and stay with you to finish up your report. Your stomach turned with nervousness and you feared for another wave of nausea. 

“Come on,” he said, once the elevator reached its destination.

Heero led the way to his car and opened the passenger door for you. You gave him a small smile and seated yourself. You leaned back into the seat and sighed. Heero got in as well and started the car.

“Feeling sick again?” he asked, concern clear in his voice.

“No…” you opened your eyes and looked at him. “Just very tired right now.”

“You should take a nap, once you get home. I still have some work to do and I could wake you up once I’m done,” he offered as he drove his car out of the garage.

“I…” you hesitated. “I’ll be fine.”

The rest of the drive was spent in silence. Once you entered your apartment, you were quick to dart into the bathroom to brush your teeth again. When you returned, Heero had booted up his laptop and sat waiting for you on the couch.

“Do you want some coffee?” you asked him. 

“I’ll pass, since it made you throw up back in my office,” he said, while getting up and following you into the kitchen.

“How did you know?”

“I saw the way you looked at the Starbucks cup. Like it was poisonous or something,” he said with a chuckle.

The sound of him laughing made you freeze. It reminded you too much of your time in Mexico, when it all had been just an act. You quickly forced yourself to shake off the memories and focused on making yourself some tea. 

“Do you want something else then?” you asked.

He shook his head. “I’m good.”

“Alright.” You finished making tea and then set course for the living room again. 

You made yourself comfortable on the couch, and Heero sat down next to you and took his laptop from the coffee table. You worked for an hour on the report and managed to finish it up. Heero and you were both in a professional working mode and it made you relax. You were comfortable with the situation as it was, and found yourself feeling better. 

Good enough actually, to get hungry. The sudden craving for chocolate took you by surprise. You blinked and glanced at Heero, watched as he put the final touches to the report. He was so damn handsome, you mused. You took in his appearance, his unruly hair that was so inciting, and his eyes, now completely focused on his laptop. He was wearing his Preventer uniform and the width of his shoulders was clearly visible under his jacket. 

You swallowed heavily and tore your eyes away from him. You quickly got up, and stepped in front of the window, gazing outside. _What the hell was wrong with you?_ You had been avoiding him all week and now you suddenly felt like jumping him?

“All done,” Heero said from behind you.

You almost jumped at his unexpected announcement and turned around. You crossed your arms in front of your chest and gave him a distressed half smile. “Good. Can you send it to Une?”

“I have already done so.” Heero shut down his laptop and put it in his bag. 

“Alright…” You sighed and ran a hand over you face. “I’ll be going to bed then.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” he asked.

“Yes.” You gave him a curt nod, hoping to get him out of your apartment as fast as possible.

“I’ll be going then. If there is anything you need you can call me, okay?” he said, while getting up.

There was no way you were calling him. If there was anything you needed, you would call Sam. But you weren’t going to tell him that. You walked him to the door and breathed a sigh of relief when he finally left. You walked back into the living room and curled up on the couch. Mister Foofykins joined you and curled up against your legs, purring insanely.

“Hey boy,” you greeted him wearily.

You rolled over on your back and stared at the ceiling, feeling utterly miserable. You had a feeling about what was wrong with you, and if it were true… you were in big trouble.

-x-x-x-

A week later, your distress was even bigger. After a whole week of mood swings, throwing up, and feeling horrible, you had missed your period. You had missed it big time, and that could only mean one thing. You were pregnant. 

“Sam!” you cried into your phone, the moment your friend pick up. “Please come over? Right now!”

“Is there something wrong?” she asked you.

You sobbed and pressed your hand over your mouth. “Yes. You have to come over.”

“I’ll be there in five.” She hung up, and you got up from your position on the couch.

You wrapped your arms around yourself and started pacing. What were you going to do? What were you going to tell Heero? How would he react? Would he be angry? You feared his reaction, just like you feared that everyone at your work would find out. You could get court-martialed and could even get fired. 

The bell rang and you ran towards the door to open it. The next moment, you were crying hysterically in Sam’s arms.

“Sweetie,” Sam coaxed, once she got the door closed. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” you sobbed. “I’m pregnant.”

She pulled back and grabbed your arms. “Are you certain?”

“I’ve missed my period,” you said.

She forced you to walk back into the living room, and made you sit down on the couch. “Have you done a test yet?”

“No…” You shook your head. “But I’ve been having these mood swings and morning sickness.”

“I’ll go and buy you a test. Stay here and try to calm down a little.” She got up and patted your head. “We’ll figure this out.”

You nodded and focused on keeping your breathing normal. Sam left and returned later on with a pregnancy test. You took it from her with shaking hands, and read the instructions. 

“-Y/N-,” Sam said gently, “if you are pregnant… Heero is the father, right?”

You nodded. “Yes.”

“Did he use a condom when you had sex?”

“No…”

She cursed. “Shit… Really?”

“You can’t just blame him alone. I’m just as responsible as he is.” You got up and made your way towards the hallway. “I’m going to do the test.”

You locked yourself up in the bathroom and returned a few minutes later. You had to wait a while for the test to give you the results, so you sat down on the couch again. 

Sam spoke up again. “Why did you have unprotected sex with him? Weren’t you thinking clearly?”

You sighed. “God knows I wasn’t. We had been drinking and…” You got up and started pacing. “He was driving me insane! I totally forgot about the possible consequences.”

“What are you gonna do if you are pregnant?” she asked.

“I don’t know!” you said. “I… I’ll have to tell Heero.”

Sam held up the test. “It’s ready.”

You took the test from her and paled. The test was showing a positive sign. It felt like the ground was going to give away beneath you, and you stumbled towards the couch. “Oh God… No!”

You started crying and threw the test onto the coffee table. Sam wrapped her arms around you and held you. “Shh… It’s going to be alright. Really.”

“No!” you sobbed. “It will never be alright.”

You cried onto her shoulder, until you were so tired you fell asleep. You vaguely noticed Sam lowering you onto the couch and covering you with a blanket. You snuggled into the warmth and drifted off into a restless sleep. 

You woke up again when you heard voices speaking quietly in the hallway. You opened your eyes and blinked. You still felt sad about your discovery and curled up under the blanket.

“You need to talk to her,” you heard Sam say. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

“Alright.” You stiffened when you registered Heero’s voice.

Had Sam gone insane? Has she called him? But you weren’t ready to tell him yet!

Footsteps came into the living room, and then Heero was kneeling on the ground next to the couch. You felt his fingers touch your hair. “-Y/N-?”

You looked at him through your bangs, noticed the concern in his gaze and then curled up again. You pressed your hand over your mouth as tears burned in your eyes once more. You were scared. What if he got angry? A sob escaped you.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Everything,” you sobbed. “What are you doing here?”

“I hadn’t heard from you, so I came by to see if you were alright.” His fingers continued to caress your hair. “Sam said I needed to talk to you.”

You pushed yourself into a sitting position and nodded without meeting his eyes. It was better if you told him immediately, you decided. “You better sit down.”

“I’m fine right here.” He cupped your cheek and made you look at him. 

He was staring up at you with an earnest expression, and it made you feel a little better. He was going to listen to you, and he wasn’t going to leave. You could read it in his eyes. You took a deep breath to calm your raging nerves and pushed your hair behind your ear. 

“I’m not sick,” you said.

“But you…”

“I know. I haven’t been feeling well,” you interrupted him. You took another deep breath and wiped away your tears. You tore your gaze away from his. You couldn’t look at him when you said it, afraid of his reaction. “I’m pregnant.”

He stared at you, clearly dumbfounded. “You…”

You got up quickly and started pacing. “I did a test. But even before that, I knew.”

Heero straightened as well, and turned towards you. “It’s mine,” he said simply.

“Of course it’s yours!” you said, while whirling around to glare at him. “What the hell do you think? I have an army of lovers hiding in my closet?!?”

Despite the shock of the whole situation, he chuckled. “I doubt your closet is that big.”

“Sorry…” you sighed. “I’m so riled up.”

You stopped pacing and your shoulders slumped. You felt so damn weary. You rubbed a hand over your eyes and sighed again. “I don’t know what to do.”

His expression turned serious again, and he gently grabbed your arms. He pulled you towards him, and then made you sit down on the couch. He sat down next to you and made you look at him by gently taking hold of your chin.

“I’m going to give you three options,” he said calmly.

You blinked at him. What was he talking about? “Wha-”

He pressed his finger over your lips, effectively shutting you up. “The first option is that we get married.”

“Oh, Hell no!” you protested. “What on earth makes you think I’ll do that?”

“Shut up,” he said, his eyes narrowing into a glare. “I’m taking responsibility for my actions here.”

You froze and stared at him. Responsibility for his actions? Did he really think that marrying him would solve the problem?

“The other option is that you keep the baby, without marrying me, and I’ll support you. I’ll be there every step on the way, every moment, and I will help you raise our child,” he explained.

Now that was an option you could live with. “What is the other option?”

“If you don’t want to keep it, you can get an abortion and I will pay for it. I will go with you, and stay with you afterwards, until you feel better.” He leaned back and gave you a calm look.

“I…” you hesitated. “I need to think about this.”

“I understand.” He gave you a small smile. 

You scooted back on the couch and pulled your knees up to your chest. “I… I thought it would be a good idea to see a doctor. I need some advice from an objective person.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” he offered while reaching out to curl his fingers around yours.

He was really going through with the whole _‘I’ll support you’_ thing. But you knew you shouldn’t have expected anything less from Heero. He was a responsible guy, as he had just showed you. He was way nicer than you had always thought him to be.

“I would like that,” you whispered shyly, while meeting his eyes. 

“Just let me know when you want to go.” He squeezed your hand, but didn’t let go.

You nodded. “What are we going to tell Une?”

He blinked. “Are you still worried about losing your job?”

You glared at him. “Aren’t you?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Despite what you think, Une is a very reasonable woman.”

“Even if she isn’t going to fire me, she needs to know.” You shifted and pulled your hand away from his. 

“We’ll tell her the truth,” Heero said calmly. “There is no use lying about what happened.”

“You’re right,” you said with a sigh.

But you knew there still waited a harder task: telling your parents. Just thinking about it made your stomach contract with nerves and shame. How would they react? With a trembling breath, you rested your forehead against your knees. How disappointed they would be. You had always been their pride, their little princess. And now that little princess had turned out to be a hussy without self control. You sniffed as you once more felt tears burn in your eyes. Damn it, you hated how those hormones were turning you into a crybaby. 

Heero scooted over and wrapped an arm around you. He seemed awkward, offering you comfort in this situation, but you were glad he tried. You needed his strength, his comfort, his promise that he wouldn’t abandon you. You wrapped your arms around his waist and buried your face in his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. 

“I’m sorry,” you wailed.

“It’s okay,” he murmured in your hair, while slipping his other arm around you as well. “We’ll figure this out.”

“It’s not that.” You pulled back to look at him. “I have to tell my parents!”

“Oh. Right.” He gave you a small smile and his hand came up to wipe your tears away. “You’re afraid they’ll be angry with you.”

You nodded. “I’m the only daughter they have. I always wanted to be perfect, and I screwed up.”

“Nobody is perfect, -Y/N-,” Heero said.

“I know.” You hung your head, letting your hair shield your face. “But I don’t want to disappoint them.”

He gave you a small, reassuring smile. “They’ll get over it.”

“You make it sound so easy,” you said quietly. 

His fingers took hold of your chin and he made you look at him. “I know it won’t be, but I promise I’ll be there for you.”

“Thank you.” 

-x-x-x-

A week later you, had your first doctor’s appointment. You had thought about what you wanted but you wanted some advice as well. Heero lived up to his promise, and went along with you to the clinic. You asked the doctor countless questions about the possibility of an abortion, and about what first steps to take if you decided to keep the baby, glad for the advice that she gave. You felt a lot better afterwards and a strange feeling of calm settled over you. With it came a feeling of surety, and during the drive back to your house, your hand came to rest over your belly. You knew there and then what your decision would be.

You invited Heero in for coffee, and after you had settled at the table you told him of your decision. 

“I’m keeping the baby,” you told him.

He put down his cup and met your gaze. “You are?”

“Yes.” You nodded and gave him a small smile. “The thought of abortion just feels wrong.”

“That leaves you two options,” he said.

Your smile disappeared. “I’m not marrying you, Heero.”

For a moment you thought you saw disappointment flash in his eyes, but it disappeared so quickly you started to wonder if you had really seen it. 

“I see,” was all he said.

“I really appreciate it that you have been so supportive so far, but I still haven’t figured out what I want from you,” you explained. “I already feel like I’m saddling you with this baby and I don’t want to do anything that might lead to disappointment for both of us.”

He didn’t say anything and regarded you with a scrutinizing expression. You squirmed a little under his gaze, and quickly got up to refill his cup. You needed to do something, move around. 

“You’re stubborn,” he said finally.

“I’m being careful,” you countered. 

“You can’t always be careful, you know.” He got up and stalked over towards you. “If you’re always careful, you’ll miss the best things in life.”

You jutted out your chin, refusing to be intimidated by his close proximity. “And you would know?”

“Believe me, I do.” He gazed at you intently, and you swallowed heavily, feeling as if he was talking about you. “And it’s pure torture.”

You backed away from him and bumped into the counter. Damn him. He was so close you could smell his enticing scent, almost feel the heat of his body, and it clouded your thoughts with the memories of that one night. You quickly turned around, and planted your hands on the counter. You stiffened as you felt him lean in, his chest pressing against your back. His arms circled your waist, his hands coming to rest on top your still flat belly. Of course, you weren’t showing any signs of your pregnancy yet, but the protective gesture made you tremble to your bones. 

“Heero,” you whispered.

“I’m here,” he murmured in your ear. 

He pulled your closer, and for one moment, you allowed yourself to enjoy the warmth of his embrace. Your heart started beating faster as he pressed a tender kiss against your temple. 

“I’m here,” he said again, “but my patience is wearing thin.”

“I’m sorry,” you said quietly. 

He let go of your and stepped back. “I’m going home. I’ll see you at work.”

With those words, he left your apartment, leaving you feeling strangely empty on the inside.

-x-x-x-

It had been three hours since Heero had walked out on you, and you felt guilty. You knew that you owed him an answer, but you had a hard enough time getting used to the idea of having a baby. You just couldn’t handle figuring out your feelings at the same time. Since you had decided to keep the baby, you thought it would be best to tell your parents as soon as possible. You were currently pacing around in your living room, trying to figure out how you would break the news to your parents. You sighed and halted in front of the vid phone. Just tell them.

You dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up. You felt a rush of relief when your mother’s face came into view on the VID-phone screen. It would have been a lot harder if you had to tell your father.

“Hi Mama,” you said, while smiling slightly. “How is it going?”

“I’m good, Milaya Moya!” She gave you a bright smile. “You look pale. Are you alright?”

You blinked. Of course your mom would notice right away. “I’m fine, Mama.”

She gave you a suspicious look. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. But there is something going on,” you admitted.

“Are you planning on telling me?” she asked.

“I…” You took a deep breath, preparing to drop the bomb. “I’m pregnant.”

Your mother was silent for a long time, looking dumbfounded at the screen.

“Mama?” you tried carefully.

You blinked as she started cussing in Russian, her mother tongue. You listened to the strain of exotic sounding words, understanding perfectly what she was saying. She wasn’t too happy about the news.

“You’re not even married yet!” her accent thickened with her surprise. “You don’t even have a boyfriend!”

“I know… It wasn’t supposed to happen,” you said softly. 

“Do you know the father?” she asked.

“Yes. He is a colleague,” you said. 

“Have you told him yet?” 

You nodded. “He will support me and the baby.”

She seemed relieved. “That is good. Dear God, -Y/N-. Some news it is.”

“You’re not angry with me, are you?” you asked.

She shook her head. “No. But I expect you to be responsible.”

“I am,” you said.

She gave you a small smile. “Then it’s alright.”

You found yourself answering her smile. “Thank you, Mama.”

“I will tell your father,” she said. “And your brothers.”

You paled at that thought. No doubt they all would get into the protective brother mode, once they heard the news. “Tell them not to worry, please?”

Your mother laughed heartily. “You know they will anyway.” 

You couldn’t help but giggle. “I do.”

“So this colleague of yours…” she started, making you wish you had ended the conversation. “What is he like?” 

You so didn’t want to talk about Heero, but you knew you had no choice. Your mother could be relentless and she would stalk you until she knew everything there was to know about Heero. “He is nice.”

“Is he handsome?”

“Yes,” you said with a sigh. “He is very handsome.”

“Well? Tell me more!” she urged.

“I… Gods, Mama. I don’t know where to start,” you said quietly.

Your mother gave you a comforting smile. “How about I ask you the questions, and you answer them?”

“I can do that.” You found yourself answering her smile.

“Good. Well then, how did you meet him?”

-x-x-x-

The next day, you went to work with your stomach in knots. The morning sickness was relentless and you didn’t want to see Heero, or tell him what you mother had told you. But… you had no choice. And you really had to stop being a coward. You arrived in your office, booted up your computer, and were immediately ambushed by Michelle, who came storming into your office like a whirlwind.

“-Y/N-! My God! You’re not going to believe it!” she exclaimed in an excited tone.

“No, you’re not going to believe what I still need to tell you,” you said dryly.

She gave you a puzzled look and closed the door of your office. She unceremoniously dropped down in one of the chairs in front of your desk. “Spill.”

“No, you first.” You gave her a smile.

“I’m in charge of organizing the yearly fundraiser!” she said.

“You are? That’s awesome!” You grinned at her. “No doubt you’ll do a good job.”

“At least a better one than that boring jerk did last year.” She grinned back at you. “Damn, that string quartet was really bad!”

“Yeah.” You chuckled as you remembered. “I strongly believe you have better musical taste than him.”

“I’ll try to get my cousin to come over from L3.”

“The DJ cousin?” you asked.

“Yeah… You should go out on a date with him.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. 

You blinked. “Er… at the moment, dating is a little complicated.”

“Why?”

“The fundraiser is in September, right?” you asked.

She nodded. “Yeah… what’s that got to do with dating my cousin? Who is totally hot, by the way.”

“I’ll be showing then,” you said with a sigh.

“Showing?”

“I’m pregnant,” you told her quietly.

“You’re WHAT?!?” Michelle’s eyes widened in shock. “Who is the father?”

You felt your cheeks heat up with a furious blush. “Heero.”

“WHAT?!?” she exclaimed.

“Shh!” you hissed. “Swear you won’t tell anyone!”

“When did you hook up with him?” she asked with an excited giggle. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t hook up with him,” you said.

Her smile disappeared. “No! Please don’t tell me you had a one night stand with him and that he knocked you up?”

You bit your lip, but didn’t say anything.

“Shit, -Y/N-. What are you going to do?” She gave you a sympathetic look.

“He knows already. And he promised me he will help me raise the baby,” you told her.

“So you’re keeping it?” she asked.

You nodded. “Yes.”

“Have you told Une yet?” 

“No. I will do that this week.” You rubbed a hand over your forehead. “She’s gonna fry me.”

“I doubt that,” Michelle said with a comforting smile.

You glared at her. “Really now. I don’t think she is going to take ‘screwing your partner on a mission’ lightly.”

Michelle giggled. “You shouldn’t worry too much. You’re one of the best in the research department. She won’t fire you.”

“I hope she doesn’t.” You straightened in your seat and turned your attention to your computer. “I need to start working.”

“Yeah… me too.” Michelle got up and walked to the door. “Let me know when you wanna go shopping for baby stuff.”

You gave her a small smile and nodded. “I will.”

“Great!” She left your office.

The next few hours, you focused on working through your email and reading the information on a possible next assignment. You went up to the roof for your coffee break, fearing that the smells of the cafeteria would make you feel nauseous again. You threw open the doors and breathed in the fresh air.

“I thought you might go up here,” Heero said from behind you.

You jumped in fright and whirled around to glare at him. “Sheesh! Don’t scare me like that!”

“Sorry.” He gave you a small smile, and stepped onto the roof as well. He made his way over to you and rested his elbows on top of the fence that lined the rooftop. “Are you feeling alright?” 

You nodded. “Yes.”

An awkward silence fell between the two of you. You studied your fingernails, deciding that you might want to get a manicure done. 

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” you said finally. 

He shrugged. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not,” you protested quietly. “You’re a nice guy, Heero, and you deserve an answer. It’s just that right now, I need to get used to the idea of having a baby.”

He nodded. “I can wait a little longer.”

You rested your elbows on the railing of the fence as well and sighed. “I told my parents.”

“And?”

“My mom is okay with it. She said she would tell my father… and my brothers,” you said.   
“She also invited you to our monthly family weekend.”

He looked at you, his eyes widening slightly as he processed what you had just told him. “She did?”

“We always gather once a month. We’re kinda scattered over the colonies and earth, and it’s our way of catching up.”

“I see,” he said.

“My mom thought it would be a good way to meet you,” you said quietly. 

“When is it?” he asked.

“Two weeks from now.” 

He nodded. “I’ll go with you.”

You bit your lip and nodded. You had protested when your mother had told you to invite Heero. You hadn’t really liked the idea of spending another weekend in his company, and with your family present. You would have enough trouble confronting your brothers, and you didn’t want them to get ugly towards Heero. He didn’t deserve that. But on the other hand, you knew he had to meet your family. And the best way was to let that happen as soon as possible. 

“Do you mind if I come over after work?” Heero asked you.

Your gaze snapped towards his, narrowing with suspicion. “Why?”

“We need to talk things through. You know, concerning the baby,” he said. 

“Already?” 

He shrugged. “I’ve never taken the time to study parenthood before.”

You blinked, then laughed. “Me neither. You’re right.”

He shot you a grin and you quickly tore your eyes away. Why was he like this? So open, warm even? This wasn’t the Heero you had known for the past two years. 

“So? After work?” he asked.

You nodded. “Sure.”

-x-x-x-

You had been home for a hour, and Heero had yet to show up. You knew he had gone home to shower and change, since he had worked out during the afternoon. You had used that time to plan an appointment with Une for the next day. You hadn’t told Heero that you would go to see her yet. You thought it was something you needed to do alone. 

The doorbell rang, and you swallowed back the nerves you now always felt when you had to spent time alone with Heero. You got up and made your way to the door and opened it. Heero stood leaning against the doorframe, looking completely at home. You fought the urge to scowl. He looked freaking arrogant like that. 

“Sorry it took so long,” he said with a small, apologetic smile.

“It’s fine, I-” You stopped speaking and paled when you noticed someone familiar walking up the path to your house. “Oh God.”

“What is it?” Heero turned around to look. 

The guy that came walking towards you was tall, with dark hair, and even darker eyes. You swallowed, immediately noticing he was angry. Your brother came prowling towards you, his eyes narrowing into slits as he saw Heero. 

“Alexi?” you asked carefully. “What are you doing here?”

He made a gesture with his head towards Heero. “Is this the bastard that knocked you up?”

You blinked in surprise as Heero turned towards Alex, and gave him a cool stare. Alex snarled and grabbed the front of Heero’s shirt, pulling him towards him. Before you could stop your brother, he had drawn back a fist and punched Heero in the face.

“Alex!” you snapped angrily. You were quick to jump forward, shoving your brother back with all the force you had. You glared at him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!?”

“What?!? Am I not allowed to be pissed off?” Alex snapped back. 

“You have no right to barge in here and solely blame Heero!” you exclaimed. “Now go home, and stay there until I call you!”

You turned your back towards your brother and marched back towards Heero, who had a hand pressed against his swelling jaw. It was turning an ugly blue already and you swore under your breath.

“Come on,” you said, while grabbing his free hand. 

You pulled him inside and slammed the door closed. You mentioned him to follow you into the kitchen. You made him sit down at the table and opened the fridge to get some ice. You rummaged around, wrapping a bag of ice cubes into a towel.

“Let me take a look at that,” you said, while turning around. 

Heero didn’t say anything as you gently took hold of his chin and checked the bruise on his face. You carefully examined his jaw, checking if Alexi hadn’t broken it, and then pressed the ice against it.

“You let him hit you,” you said coolly.

“He was angry,” he said simply.

“Yeah so? You shouldn’t have let him.” You sighed. 

“I can take quite a bit of pain, you know,” Heero said, while giving you a small smile.

“That’s not the point.” You glared at him. “Are you going to let my other brothers punch you too if they feel like it?”

He gave you an amused stare. “It depends on how much other brothers you have.”

You rolled your eyes. “Three.”

“Hn…” Heero seemed to consider what you said. “They won’t hit me.”

“You seem pretty sure about that.” You removed the ice from his cheek to check the bruise. “This is going to get ugly.”

He shrugged. “It will fade. By the time I meet your mother, none will know your brother pummeled me in the face.”

You sighed and pressed the ice against his cheek again. “Hold this. You want some coffee?”

“Sure.” His fingers brushed against yours as he took the icepack from you. 

You quickly pulled away and went to fix coffee and tea. “We need to make another doctor’s appointment. I need to know what I can expect and what steps to take now.”

“I figured that,” he said.

“I was thinking about next week. Will you come along again?” you turned around to look at him.

He was gazing at you with that unreadable expression of his. “I promised you I would support you, didn’t I?”

You fought the urge to blush. “Yeah… well.”

“Hn?”

You shrugged. “There are guys that make empty promises.”

The look in his eyes intensified. “I don’t.”

“No…” you gave him a small smile as you agreed with him. 

You carried two mugs with coffee and tea over to the table and put them down. You sat down across from him.

“Honestly,” you started, “I hadn’t expected you to react in the way you did.”

“You thought I would run away and let you figure it out all by yourself?” he asked, sounding shocked.

You grinned at him. “Boy, was I wrong about that.”

He chuckled. “You can say that.”

He lowered the icepack to the table and took his mug to sip the coffee. It was really turning into an ugly bruise, you decided. 

“You better keep that iced up,” you said. 

“I’ve been through worse you know,” he said, sounding amused. 

You scowled. “I know. But the war was eight years ago. There is no need for you to get busted up again.”

He smirked. “Tell that to your brother.”

Your scowl deepened. “I’m so going to hit him over the head with a frying pan when he comes over. I’m sorry about him.”

“Don’t be,” he said quietly. “It wasn’t your fault.”

You rolled your eyes. “No, but in the end, Alexi will be very sorry.”

-x-x-x-

Your stomach was in knots by the time you knocked on Une’s office door the next morning. You had taken extra care with dressing, making sure your Preventer uniform was neatly pressed. You had applied some extra make-up, and had pulled your hair up in a neat pony tail. You hoped that having a good appearance would help you convince Une not to fire you.

“Come in,” came Une’s muffled voice through the closed door.

You opened the door and stepped into Une’s office. It was twice the size of yours, and decorated in a style that reminded you that she was your superior in every way in this building. 

“Agent -L/N-,” Une said, while extending her hand towards yours.

“Ma’am.” You shook her hand and sat down in one of the chairs in front of her desk.

Une sat down as well and gave you a small smile. “What is it that you wanted to discuss with me?”

You swallowed heavily. Okay, so she was directly getting to the point. “I… I’m pregnant.”

Une blinked, then broke into a warm smile. “Congratulations. And you’re here to discuss that with me, because…?”

You sighed. “I know I could have gone to the head of my department, but I think the matter is more important than that. I got pregnant during my mission.”

“The mission in Mexico?”

You nodded. “Yes. Agent Yuy is the father.”

“I see…” Une looked thoughtful. 

“What happened didn’t compromise our mission in any way,” you said carefully, not knowing what to think of her reaction. She seemed awfully calm. 

“I know that,” Une said, while a small smile formed on her face. “And I’m happy for you Agent – L/N-.”

You blinked in surprise. “You’re not going to fire me?”

She laughed. “Now, what a waste that would be. You’re one of the best we have in our research department.”

You felt a rush of relief at her words. “Thank you.”

“There is no need to worry about anything,” Une assured you. “If anything, I’m happy for you and Agent Yuy. Now, go on with your work.”

You nodded. “Okay.”

Still a little dumbfounded, you got up and left her office. When you closed the door, you could hear her mutter something about _‘young people in love’_ and you blushed furiously. Maybe you should have told her that Heero and you weren’t in a relationship. But on the other hand… your private life wasn’t any of her business.

You quickly made your way to your office and continued your work. You went to the cafeteria during your lunch break and found Duo, Sam, and Michelle seated at your usual table. You noticed that Duo was looking a little distressed as you joined them. He was in the middle of a story.

“What’s the matter?” you asked him.

“The weirdest thing!” Duo exclaimed. “You’re not going to believe it!”

You grinned and unwrapped your sandwich. “Well… get on with it!”

Duo took a deep breath. “Okay, so I was going over to Heero’s office to blackmail him into going to a bar on Friday. But he wasn’t there, so I decided to wait for him. And you know I can get a little curious sometimes…”

You sipped your soda. “Which is mostly all the time.”

Duo glared at you. “So not true!”

“Are you going to continue or what?” Michelle asked him.

“Well… I got bored and decided to check my email on his computer,” Duo said.

“He isn’t going to like it when he finds out you touched his stuff,” you said.

“Don’t care! Anyway… I found the weirdest thing on his computer!” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. 

Michelle choked on her salad. “Porn?”

Duo’s eyed widened comically. “Hell no! He wouldn’t be so careless to leave his computer like that if it had been a porn website!”

“Well, what was it?” Sam asked.

“One of those websites where you can order stuff from.”

“Yeah so?” you asked him. “People order stuff from the internet all the time. What’s weird about that?”

“It was the stuff that he had ordered,” Duo said with a grin. 

You, Michelle, and Sam all stared at him with curiosity. Duo grin widened as he noticed he had your attention completely.

“Heero has ordered books about parenting,” Duo said.

You choked on your soda, and pressed your hand over your mouth as you coughed. Sam patted you on the back. 

“You okay?” she asked.

You nodded and took another sip of your soda. “Books? About p-parenting?”

“Yep!” Duo grinned. “So… Any idea who the mystery lady is?”

As Duo chuckled to himself, Sam gave you a meaningful stare. You shook your head to indicate you hadn’t told Duo yet. And why should you? Duo was, in the first place, Heero’s friend, so it was up to Heero to tell him. 

“Well… I wouldn’t know,” Michelle lied smoothly.

“At least it’s not Relena Darlian,” you said.

Duo blinked. “How would you know?”

“Because she puts Heero on a pedestal to worship, and that something he doesn’t like,” you said. “His words, not mine.”

“Seems like you had an awful lot of time left on your mission to discuss that sort of things,” Duo said with a smirk.

You paled a little, fearing he was going to ask if you were the mystery lady. “We talked. So? Is that a problem?”

Duo shrugged. “Well, to conclude my story: he came into his office and he had this massive bruise on his face. Said he got punched in the face during a sparring match in the gym, but that’s not at all like Heero. Usually he is the one to throw the punches. I think the mystery lady has some very angry relatives.”

You blanched. 

Sam raised an eyebrow. “You think?”

“Heero never let’s anyone hit him, unless that person has a very good reason for it,” Duo said.

“Right… like that time when he asked you to hit him, and you got punched in the gut in return?” Michelle asked dryly, expertly steering the conversation in another direction.

“We were sixteen!” Duo protested. “It was one for one!”

You rolled your eyes. “Whatever Duo.”

“I didn’t ask him about the books, of course,” Duo said. “But I can’t help but wonder…”

You sighed and popped the last piece of your sandwich in your mouth. You hoped Duo would shut up about the issue, because it made you feel really uncomfortable to talk about it, while he didn’t know you were the one that was pregnant. 

You got up from your seat to throw your trash away, and went back to your office. There you plopped down in your chair and had a silent cry. 

“-Y/N-?” Sam’s voice came from the doorway.

You glanced at her through your tears. “Yeah?”

She closed the door and rushed towards you. “Are you okay?”

You nodded and sniffed. “Yeah… it’s just the hormones.”

“Heero seems pretty determined to support you,” Sam said, while wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

You gave her a watery smile. “I think it’s really nice of him.”

“It sure is.” She gave you a smile in return. “And I think you know more of the bruise on Heero’s face.”

“My brother hit him,” you said.

“Which one?” 

“Alexi.” You dabbed at your eyes with a tissue and sighed.

“Aah… The hothead.” Sam giggled. “Gee… I wonder how that must have looked.”

“Heero let Alex hit him. It was like he felt he deserved it,” you said quietly. “Alex came over during the evening and I scolded him until I ran out of names to call him. He was really sorry.”

“I bet he was… I wouldn’t want to get scolded at in two languages,” she said with a grin. 

You chuckled, before continuing. “Alex promised he would behave during the family weekend. My mom invited Heero as well.”

“He’s going to get traumatized by the amount of noise your family makes,” Sam said dryly.

“Or by my brothers.” 

“But…” Sam shrugged. “I think it will be good for him.”

You blinked at her. “Why?”

Sam gave you a mysterious smile. “What do you think? The man needs family.”

With those words, she got up and left your office. You sat there for a while, pondering her words. Maybe she was right… you mused. If Heero wanted to be a good father, and it seemed like he wanted exactly that, for he ordered those books, he needed to see and experience what a family could be like. Maybe the family weekend wouldn’t be so bad after all…

**\- End part 3 -**


	4. Part 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time! I hope you will enjoy this part! :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing, its characters, or you.

**Every Moment  
Part 4**

_Outskirts of New York, New York City, AC 203_

You bit your lip as you gazed at your parents’ house from the driver’s seat of the rental car Heero had insisted on. It was getting close to sundown and you could see your family members moving around inside the house. The familiarity of the picture made you smile. Heero turned off the car and turned towards you, but you were so caught up in your thoughts that you didn’t notice. He reached out and trailed a finger over your cheek. Startled, you turned your head and gave him a sharp look. 

“Shouldn’t we go inside?” he asked.

“Yeah.” You opened the door and quickly got out of the car. 

Heero got out as well and opened the trunk to get your luggage. You had only packed a small trolley and he a duffel bag. You took the trolley from him, and when he tried to protest you gave him a glare. Damn it, you were still an independent woman. By the time your stomach had the size of a balloon you would consider letting him carry your luggage. Now, you were just fine. 

You opened the wooden fence and walked down the path that led to the front door. The screen door banged open en two children with shocks of dark hair shot out the door, running on sturdy, little legs in your direction.

“Auntie -Y/N-!” the boy cried enthusiastically. 

Your heart warmed at the sight of them, and you scooped the boy up when he reached you. You twirled him around, making him belt with laughter, and received what felt like a very wet kiss on your cheek.

“Hey champ!” you said warmly.

“You’re finally here!” he said.

“I know.” You gave him a smile, before turning your attention to the girl that stood in front of you. “Hello Lana.”

The girl smiled at you and wrapped her arms around your leg. “Hiya! Did you bring me a present?”

You burst out laughing and reached down to run a hand over her brown curls. “Maybe I did.”

“Do you have one for me as well?” Brandon demanded.

“Maybe.” You gave him a mischievous smile. 

He grinned and wrapped his little arms around your neck. Lana had turned her attention to Heero, who stood at your side. He seemed a little uncomfortable with the kids, but you thought he should get used to it. In less than nine months he would have a child of his own. Lana gave him an owlish stare. 

“You have very pretty eyes,” she boldly told him.

It seemed to break the ice. Heero knelt down in front of her and gave her a small smile. “Thank you.”

“What’s your name?” Lana asked.

“I’m Heero,” he said. 

Lana cocked her head to the side, making her curls bounce. Then she looked at you. “Do I have to call him _Uncle Heero_?” she asked you.

You grinned. “Yes.”

“Alright.” Lana extended her arms towards Heero. “You have to carry me.”

Heero gave you a helpless look and your grin widened. He looked damn cute like that.

“Well, go ahead,” you said.

“But…” Then he sighed and scooped Lana up in his arms. 

She wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled. You shifted Brandon’s weight onto your hip, so you could hold him with one arm. With your free hand, you took your trolley and pulled it along with you towards the front door. Just as you were about to open the door, it opened, revealing your mother’s smiling face. Her dark brown hair was pulled back with a clip and her brown eyes regarded you with warmth and affection. 

“There you are!” She exclaimed happily.

“Hi Mama.” You momentarily let go of your trolley to give her a one armed hug. 

Your mother pulled back to press firm kisses against your cheeks and took her time examining you. 

“Yes,” she said finally. “You are definitely pregnant, Milaya Moya.”

“Mama.” You sighed and shook your head, but even so a smile tugged at your lips. 

“What is pregnant?” Brandon demanded.

“Auntie -Y/N- is having a baby,” your mother told him.

“What?!?” Brandon’s eyes widened. “Where is it?”

“In my belly.” You couldn’t help but giggle. “It’s not ready to come out yet.”

Your mother turned her attention towards Heero and smiled warmly. “You must be Heero.”

He nodded. “I am.”

You could barely conceal a grin as your mother kissed both his cheeks as well, clearly stunning him. He really wasn’t used to spontaneity. Sam had been right. He needed to see what a family could be like. 

“You call me Nadia,” your mother insisted.

The door to the living room opened and a handsome man with dark hair and dark brown eyes stepped into the hallway. He was wildly beautiful, and gave you a white toothed grin when he saw you.

“Mik!” You were quick to dash forward and into his arms.

He caught you in a bear hug, which made Brandon squeal. “Daddy!”

Mikhail kissed both your cheeks and then lifted Brandon out of your arms. “You go to your Mama.”

“But I wanna stay with Auntie -Y/N-!” Brandon protested.

“I’ll go upstairs to freshen up, and then I’ll be down again,” you reassured him. 

Brandon whined when you stepped away, but caved when Nadia offered him a piece of candy. You caught Mikhail’s disapproving stare and grinned.

“You too, Moya Printsessa.” Mikhail lifted Lana out of Heero’s arms and set her down on the ground. Then he greeted Heero. “Nice to meet you.”

You breathed a sigh of relief. Mikhail had always been the most easygoing out of your brothers. He was the eldest. If he accepted Heero, then the others would too. You watched them as they shook hands, noticing that Mik put a bit more force in it than necessary. You rolled your eyes. That Mik accepted Heero didn’t mean he wouldn’t test him. But Heero didn’t seem bothered by it. 

“I will show you your room now,” Nadia said, while gesturing for you and Heero to follow her.

You followed your mother up the staircase to you old room. Your eyes widened when you caught sight of the double bed that hadn’t been there before. “Mama, what is this?”

“The children will be sleeping in the guest room. Is this alright?” Nadia gave you a smile that clearly told you she was expecting a wedding next year.

Oh boy… You wanted to throttle her. “Mama… I told you-”

“I will leave you now,” she interrupted you. “I’ll see you downstairs.”

You groaned when the door closed behind her. “She is doing this on purpose.”

Heero gave you a small smirk. “You think?”

You gave him a half hearted glare. “It’s not funny.”

He chuckled and threw his duffle bag on the bed. “Where is the bathroom? I want to take a quick shower.”

“Down the hallway, final door on the left,” you said, while hoisting your trolley onto the bed as well. 

Heero pulled a change of clothes out of his bag, along with his bag of toiletries and left the room. You sank down on the bed as the door fell shut behind him. You sighed. You’d be sharing a bed with him again. Your mother had really done this on purpose. She knew that Heero and you weren’t a couple, yet she had arranged for you to share a room with him. And the reason why was beyond you. Or maybe you did have an idea.

You bit your lip and ran a hand through your hair. It was most inconvenient. What if Heero tried to make a move on you? You refused to think about it. It wouldn’t do you any good if you started having not so innocent thoughts about him. 

The past two weeks hadn’t been easy on you. You were more confused than ever about your feelings for him. He had accompanied you to the second doctor’s appointment, and then had reminded you to ask for a test to see if the drug that had been used by the criminals to sedate you would have an effect on the baby. You hadn’t really thought about the drug anymore and had been glad he had brought it up. But the doctor had told you that the drug that was used wouldn’t harm your baby. 

You had argued with him as well. He insisted on moving in with you for a few months after the baby was born and you didn’t see why that was necessary. You didn’t want him that close. Being next to him scared the hell out of you. You had started to sort through your feelings and came to the conclusion that Heero made you feel **something**. But what that something was you still had to figure out. You were afraid and really needed to talk to your mother about this.

Heero returned from his shower, his hair damp and falling wildly over his forehead. His scent drifted towards you and you curled your hands into fists as your heart started beating faster. You quickly got up and grabbed some comfortable clothes from your trolley.

“I’ll be right back,” you told him, before leaving the room.

The whole bathroom smelled like him. You took a deep breath, inhaling the scent that was totally Heero. You knew he didn’t care for expensive colognes that much, but you could recognize Jean Paul Gaultier anywhere. And he always seemed to smell like it when he was around you. You took a quick shower, before venturing back to your room. Heero had put your trolley down on the ground next to the wall. His duffel bag was next to it. You were still brushing your hair and sat down on the bed.

“Are you okay?” Heero asked you with concern lacing his voice. “You look tired.”

“I am. I won’t stay downstairs for long,” you said with a small smile. 

“Alright.” He cupped the back of your head and pressed a kiss against your forehead.

You fought the urge to scowl at him. He had started doing that quite often and you weren’t sure if you liked it. You knew you had to be out of your mind not to like it. There were dozens of women who would love to trade places with you, so they could have Heero to show them some affection. The thought of him showing that affection to anyone else made your stomach contract. You didn’t like the idea of him with someone else. You sighed. You were such a mess.

“Let’s go downstairs,” you told him.

“Hn.”

He followed you out of the room and down the stairs. You led him into the living room, feeling a bit nervous again. You wondered if he would notice? Your father was quick to rise from his chair and you hurried over to get enveloped in a bear hug. His familiar scent washed over you and you clung to him.

“Hi Dad,” you said warmly.

He pressed a kiss against your cheek and then pulled back. He took in your appearance, his green eyes lit up with pride. “You look good.”

“Thanks.” You gave him a smile and took in his appearance as well. You noticed his dark blond hair had started graying on the temples. “You too.”

Heero stepped up next to you and your father clasped Heero’s hand in a firm hand shake.

“Nice to meet you, Son,” he said. “I’m Michael.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Heero said. You noticed his voice was less monotone than usual.

You went to say hi to the others in the room, leaving Heero to greet everyone in his own pace. Your mother came into the room, carrying a tray with tumblers on it and a bottle of vodka. 

“Aah, Mama,” your brother Luka said with a charming smile. His eyes were the same green as your father’s and carried obvious affection for his mother. “How I love you!”

He grabbed a glass from the tray and the bottle and poured himself a generous amount. 

You pulled a face. “No drinking in front of me.” 

“Soooo sorry for you.” Luka grinned and slammed back the contents of his glass.

You scowled and grabbed Ilya’s arm. “Tell him he is a pig.”

“I could do a lot more than that.” Ilya wrapped his arm around your shoulders. “I’ve been told I have a very nasty left hook.”

“Keep talking,” you said with a sly smile. 

Luka stuck out his tongue, before pulling a petite, blonde woman over. “I’d like you to meet Cecilia.”

You caught the disapproving stare your mother sent in Cecilia’s direction. It was clear she didn’t like her. Luka was Nadia’s baby boy and she was fiercely protective of him. You extended your hand for Cecilia to shake.

“Nice to meet you,” you said politely.

She gave you a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Nice to meet you too.”

Mikhail’s wife, a pretty redhead named Denise, pulled you out from under Ilya’s arm and hugged you. “She is a snake,” she whispered quietly.

“Clearly,” you whispered back with a grin. 

Brandon came to demand your attention again and you lifted him up once more.

“So tell me,” you said to him. “Have you been nice to your mama?”

“Yes!” he said, while puffing out his little chest proudly. “I can dress my own self now.”

You kissed his cheek, while Denise snorted at her son’s antics. “How good of you!”

“So that is Heero,” Denise said, while observing him with a hawk’s eye. “He seems… a little out of place.”

“I know.” You turned to watch him and found Mik talking to him. “He is not used to situations such as this.”

Denise cocked her head to the side. “He is gorgeous.”

You felt a blush spread on your face. “Er…”

She grinned. “But you already knew that.”

Alexi joined you and you gave him a sideway glance. “Hi.”

“Hey.” The tone in his voice told you he hadn’t forgotten that you had scolded him thoroughly a couple of weeks ago. “How’s it going?”

“I’m good.” You said, while giving your mother a grateful smile when she pushed a glass of fruit juice in your hand. “Thanks Mama.”

“You need vitamins,” she told you pointedly. 

You rolled your eyes. “I know that. Jeez…”

Heero shot a grin in your direction when he heard your mother’s words, and you stuck your tongue out at him.

“So…” Ilya stepped up beside you and took Brandon out of your arms. “Is it true that Alexi pummeled him in the face?”

You scowled. News always travelled. “Heero let him.”

Ilya was silent for a while and you glanced at him. He was gazing at Heero with a thoughtful expression on his face. “That so?” he asked finally.

“Yeah… apparently it’s a men thing.” You took a sip from your fruit juice. It was fresh and you sighed in bliss as you realized your mother had been busy in the kitchen. This weekend was going to be good. 

“You mean he said that if one of us punched him, the others wouldn’t?” Alexi asked, sounding amused.

You nodded. “Yes.”

“How big was the bruise?” Ilya asked with a grin.

You scowled. “Massive. And it’s still not gone. If mama asks about it, I won’t keep my mouth shut.”

Alexi blanched. “You wouldn’t.”

“I’ll tell you something else,” you decided to taunt him a little further. “You’re lucky he didn’t punch you back. He is way stronger than you are.”

“And how did you find that out?” Alexi gave you an amused grin.

You gave him a sly smile. “I know things about him.”

“Yeah, I bet you do.” Ilya smirked.

You blushed scarlet and Denise was so wise to get her son out of Ilya’s arms, before the dirty words started flowing. No need for Brandon to get traumatized on such a young age. She gave her brother in law a disapproving stare, before venturing off to talk to Nadia.

“No sex talk!” you hissed under your breath, which made the pigs on both your sides roar with laughter. You slapped your forehead. “Ugh… men.”

“Let me save you from them,” Cecilia stepped forward and hooked her arm through yours.

A little surprised by her actions, you let her. You were curious to see what she would do or say. As she led you over to the couch, you saw her cast a look in Heero’s direction. You could reach the obvious approval in her eyes and it made you scowl. She was ogling the man who got you pregnant while she was dating your brother! You felt bad for Luka. But obviously he was on his way to get drunk with Mikhail, and Alexi and Ilya were joining them. Heero and your father settled at the table as well, but Heero was drinking beer. You were glad he was staying away from the stronger stuff. You plus Heero plus alcohol always ended up… You forced your thoughts away from that direction.

You sat down next to Cecilia on the couch and tried to be polite to her. “Have you known Luka for long?”

“We’ve been dating for a month,” she said with a small smile. Like the earlier smile she had given you, it didn’t reach her eyes. “We met in this little cafe close to where he lives. Do you know it?”

You nodded. “Yes. They have great Sangria there.”

“They do? I never tried it.” She cast another glance in Heero’s direction. “That guy is not your boyfriend, right?”

Why was she asking you that? “No. We’re still figuring things out,” you said. You felt a little uncomfortable telling her that, because you were giving her the impression that Heero and you might end up as a couple, but you wanted her to back off. You wouldn’t let her hurt your brother.

“I see…” she said, sounding thoughtful. “How did you meet him?”

“We’re colleagues,” you said.

“Really? What work do you do?” Now her interest seemed genuine, but maybe she was just fishing for more information about Heero.

“I’m a Preventer.” 

“Really?” she beamed. “That sounds exciting!”

“I’m part of the research department, so I don’t do much field work,” you explained. “I’m only allowed to go onto missions if my safety can be assured by an experienced field agent.”

“One like him?” she made a gesture with her head towards the table.

“Hmm…” you nodded. 

Cecilia tried to get more information out of you, but you switched subjects, bringing the conversation back to her and Luka. You started to like her less and less as she seemed be disinterested in your brother. After an half an hour, you gave up talking to her and decided to go to bed. You were tired from the flight and you did notice that your mother was giving you concerned looks now and then.

Heero turned in his seat when you made your way over to him. 

“I’m going to bed,” you told him.

“Alright,” he said, while giving you a small smile. “I’m going stay here for a while.”

“Sure.” You were glad he was enjoying himself.

Mikhail returned to the table. He had left earlier to help Denise put Brandon and Lana to bed. He sat down and slammed him hand on the table. “More vodka!”

“You’re seriously going to regret that tomorrow when those little monsters wake up,” Luka said with a grin. 

“We’ll see about that.” Mikhail slammed back the contents of the glass your mother put down in front of him. He made a gesture with his hand and grinned. “I don’t wine like a baby when I’m hung over.”

“Oh and I do?” Luka leaned forward with a challenging grin on his face. “Hand me the bottle, Mama.”

You rolled your eyes. “Please don’t behave like them,” you told Heero.

He grinned at you. “Don’t worry.”

You giggled and rested a hand on his shoulder for a moment, before leaving the room. You went upstairs and changed into a big t-shirt and comfortable pair of flannel pants, before venturing off to the bathroom to brush your teeth. On your way back to your room, it suddenly occurred to you it might come in handy to have a bucket next to your bed in case of morning sickness. You went downstairs again and found your mother in the kitchen.

“Mama, do you have bucket for me?” you asked her.

“Oh sure!” she pulled open a cabinet and retrieved one of her cleaning buckets from it. She put it down on the counter next to you. “Is the morning sickness bad?”

You nodded. “Yeah… I hope it eases up a bit over time.”

Nadia smiled at you and pulled you closer in a hug. She kissed your cheek affectionately. “It will get better, believe me.”

You smiled at her. “What can I say? You’re the one with experience here.”

“Heero is not used to family, is he?” she asked you while smiling warmly.

“No. He has no family.” You clasped your hands together in front of you to keep yourself from fidgeting. You felt a little uncomfortable, because you weren’t sure if Heero would approve of you telling your mother about this.

“No family?” Nadia peered around the doorpost into the living room. “How sad.”

“Yeah…” You swallowed and leaned back against the counter. “He fought in the war.”

“What? How old is he?” Nadia did her best to keep the volume of her voice low, so that none knew what you were talking about. 

“Twenty three.” 

“Good God.” Her eyes widened. “He was just a child.”

“As were his friends.” You joined her, so you could look around the doorpost as well. 

Heero was still seated at the table and engaged in a card game with your brothers. Luka was shouting about how Alexi was cheating, obviously way past getting drunk. He made wild gestures with his hands and switched over to Russian when the argument grew heated.

“You might wanna pour a few bottles of water down your baby’s throat,” you said dryly. 

Nadia grinned. “Or not, in hopes of him throwing up on that…” she struggled with her words, indicating that she was really frustrated about Luka dating such a woman. “Suka.”

“I don’t like her either,” you said while patting her arm. “She is obviously interested in Heero and tried to hear me out about him.”

Nadia’s eyes narrowed. “I will tolerate her for the time being. Luka has to find out on his own.”

“Yes.” You smiled and took the bucket from the counter. “I’m going to bed.”

“Sleep well.” She kissed your cheek, and then went back to preparing a plate of snacks.

You went back upstairs and put the bucket down on the ground next to the bed. You curled up under the sheets and closed your eyes. You were almost asleep when the door opened. You opened your eyes and blinked.

“Heero?” you inquired groggily. 

“Yeah, it’s me,” he said as he made his way over to his duffel bag in the dark.

“You can turn on the light,” you told him, while turning over on your back. “I’m awake.”

“Obviously.” He sounded amused and turned on the light.

You squeezed your eyes shut at the assault of light on your vision. “Damn it.”

He chuckled and grabbed his bag of toiletries. “I’ll be right back.”

He left the room and returned a while later. He put the bag of toiletries down on the nightstand on his side of the bed and pulled off his shirt. You blushed and quickly tore your eyes away from the familiar sight of the bronzed skin he was displaying. Just because you didn’t want to get involved (yet anyway) with him, didn’t mean you were not attracted to him. You heard his jeans drop to the floor and then he got in under the sheets. Your eyes widened. He was sleeping in just his boxers. **Again**. Your cheeks warmed even more and you wished you could just disappear. You were grateful when he turned off the light.

“May I ask you something?” he asked.

“Hmm?” You turned over on your side, so you lay facing him. 

He lay facing you as well, his hair spilling over his pillow. Although the room was dark, you could still make out his features clearly. You had forgotten to close the drapes and moonlight filtered through the window. Shadows played over his shoulders and bare chest. You swallowed thickly as you felt a jolt of desire as you looked at him. 

“You don’t look like anyone in your family,” he said. He sounded as if he was very careful with his choice of words. He probably didn’t want to upset you.

You pressed your lips to together in a thin line as you contemplated what to say to him. Obviously, he had noticed. “That’s because I’m adopted.”

“I see…” he murmured.

It was a subject you didn’t like to talk about, but you thought he had a right to know. You propped your weight up on one arm, pushing your pillow under it so you were comfy. 

“My biological parents couldn’t care for me anymore,” you told him. “We lived in the L2 colony cluster and I remember my father was a drunk. He used to smack my mother around the house when he came home from the bar. The only reason she stayed with him was because of me. She couldn’t care for me on her own because she didn’t have the money or a job. Then one night my father didn’t come home. It turned out that in his drunken state, he had gotten into a fight with a couple of Alliance soldiers and they had beaten him so hard that he had fallen into a coma.” You paused for a moment, gathering up the courage to continue your story. “He died the next day. My mother had no choice but to give me up for adoption. Her parents wouldn’t help her because they had never approved of my father. I came into this family when I was five. I remember that when Nadia and Michael came to pick me up my mother was crying.”

“Is she still alive?” he asked you.

“No… She…” You swallowed back the sudden lump in your throat. “She died during the Maxwell Church Tragedy.” 

Heero seemed dumfounded by your revelation. “W-what?”

“I know it sounds weird… Duo might have known my mother.” You rested your cheek against your pillow. “I once asked him, but he refuses to talk about it. Which is pretty understandable.”

Heero reached out and took your hand in his. His fingers entwined with yours. “How did you find out she died?”

“Through the adoption agency. When I was sixteen, I wanted to know what happened to her so I contacted them. I have an aunt that is still alive and I did get to meet her. She always had wanted to help my mother, but was forbidden by her father to do so,” you said. “She was very nice and gave me tons of stuff that had belonged to my mother. I have pictures albums full of my life with her back in Brussels.”

“Can I see them?” he asked.

You smiled and nodded. “Sure.”

“You were lucky to get into this family,” he said quietly. His grip on your hand tightened slightly. 

“I know…”

He gave you a small smile. There was something in his eyes that made your breath catch. You swallowed when you realized it was longing. He was longing for a family. He wanted to have what he had been denied as a child.

“Do you like them?” you asked him.

He nodded. “Yes.”

You smiled warmly at him. “I’m glad. And I want to thank you for being nice to Alexi. He feels really bad about hitting you.”

His lips tilted into a smirk. “He apologized to me. And then he told me that you said I was stronger than him.”

You rolled your eyes to cover up that fact that you were blushing. “I hoped to scare him a bit more.”

He chuckled. “It didn’t work.”

“Too bad.” You giggled and shifted. It brought you closer to him than before, and you froze when you realized his face was really close to yours now. 

He was gazing back at you with an intense look in his eyes. You watched as his lips parted slightly as if he was going to say something; but he didn’t. You felt your mouth run dry and unconsciously licked your lips. His breath hitched and something in his eyes heated, while his grip on your hand tightened. You held your breath as he moved closer, not sure if you should stop him. His scent washed over you, familiar and all masculine. He let go of your hand and caressed your cheek, the calluses on his fingers sending tremors through your body. Desire pooled in your belly, and you realized that if he kissed you, it would change everything. You couldn’t keep on denying him, not after what you had seen in his eyes. You wanted to fill the void in his heart, give him the family he wanted. But you wanted to do it step by step, so that you were sure of your own feelings. He didn’t deserve to be loved halfheartedly. If you fell in love with him, you would do it fully and with your whole heart.

Your breath left your lungs in a rush when his lips brushed over yours, you eyes sliding shut in surrender. Your fingers tingled with a need to touch him and you slid your hands over his shoulders, enjoying the feeling of his skin, warm and supple, beneath your fingers. His lips only rubbed over yours, creating a tingling sensation that left you longing for more. You shifted a bit, rolling onto your back. You pulled him closer and pressed your lips firmly against his. He made a noise in the back of his throat that set your senses on fire. It was without a doubt the sexiest sound you had ever heard. You needed him closer still and pressed your body into his. His heart thundered in his rib cage, matching the rapid beating of your own heart. A moan escaped you when his tongue teased your lips open, delving in to taste you. He kissed you slowly, and for the first time really explored. He slipped one hand beneath your back, pressing you against him. Your thoughts grew muddled and you had trouble remembering where you were. The only thing that was clear to you was him. His scent. His taste. The feeling of his skin beneath your hands. You reveled in it all, enjoyed the tender caress of his fingers against your cheek. 

He pulled back from the kiss to gaze at you in surprise, when the tears you hadn’t noticed forming in your eyes rolled down your cheeks. His eyes glittered darkly in the moonlight and you blinked to clear your vision. He wiped your tears away with such tenderness it made you tremble. He leaned in for another kiss, this one just a gentle as the last. You buried one hand in his hair, kissing him back with a growing sense of wonder. You could feel his arousal press against your thigh, but he didn’t make any indication that he wanted to take things further. He nibbled on your bottom lip and lured your tongue into his mouth, daring you to explore. He shivered when you slid your hand down his back. Utterly fascinated by the fact you could make him shiver, you dragged your hands back up to his shoulders and slid them down again. You found the sensitive spot in the middle of his back, just below his shoulder blades. He arched beneath your touch and you grinned into the kiss. He tugged at your bottom lip with his teeth, before pulling back to look at you. 

You cupped his cheek and smiled. His lips twitched in response and he shifted, so his weight rested on his elbows on both sides of your head. You gazed up at him, committing the way he looked right now to your memory. His hair was slightly mussed from your hand running through it and you could see his lips were swollen from kissing. He was an alluring sight like this. 

“There is no going back now, is there?” you asked him quietly.

He smirked. “No. I’m not going to let you get away this time.”

Your heart skipped a beat at his words and you felt a blush spread on your face. “It’s still going to take some time, before I-”

“That’s okay,” he said. “We’ll take it step by step.”

You smiled at him and pulled him down for another kiss. His arm snaked around your waist and then he rolled over, pulling you on top of him. His fingers tugged on the fabric of the pants you were wearing and you raised an eyebrow in question.

“I liked that thing you were wearing in Mexico a lot more,” he said with a smirk.

You grinned at him. “I’m not playing a blushing bride right now.”

He chuckled and curled his fingers around your neck. His kiss was fierce and made your toes curl. His other hand slipped under your t-shirt, caressing over your back, before sliding along your side to come to a rest on your hip. His thump rubbed circles on your stomach, and you sat up as a sudden thought came to you. You lifted your shirt up so it bared your belly and took his hand in yours. You placed it on top of your belly and gave him a small smile. The look in his eyes was tender and you felt damn wonderful to know that tenderness was directed at you. 

“I wonder what it will look like when I start showing,” you said shyly. 

He gave you a small smile in return and sat up. He kept his hand pressed against your belly, his fingers splaying wide. “Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?” he asked.

You shrugged. “I guess it doesn’t matter as long as it’s healthy.”

“Hn…” 

“Have you told anyone yet?” you asked him. 

“No. I thought I’d do that after the first three months,” he said, while leaning in to nuzzle your neck. 

You shivered as his breath caressed over your skin. “Sam knows… and I told Michelle.”

“And?”

“Well, Sam was there when I discovered I am pregnant. And I told Michelle because she was trying to set me up with her cousin.” You smiled when you noticed that his grip on you tightened. “It seemed like a good excuse to get out from under it.”

He chuckled. “That’s true.”

“But Duo knows something is up.” 

He gave you a surprised look. “He does?”

“Yeah… He discovered you have ordered books on the internet.” You grinned when his eyes narrowed.

He muttered something you didn’t quite catch. “He is too curious for his own good.”

You toyed with his hair. “He doesn’t know it’s me. But I guess you’d better be prepared for when he starts asking you questions.”

“Hmm.” He stole another kiss from you, before settling back against the pillow.

He pulled you down and you slid from his lap, getting comfortable against him. You rested your head on the juncture of his neck and shoulder and sighed. His arms wrapped around you and you felt blissfully safe. He turned his head to press his lips against your forehead. 

“Go to sleep,” he told you quietly. “You need rest.”

“Hmm…” You closed your eyes. 

It didn’t take long for you to fall asleep.

-x-x-x-

The next morning, you awoke to the sounds of children playing in the backyard. You smiled sleepily and snuggled deeper into your pillow. A sleepy sigh sounded next to you, and an arm sluggishly wrapped itself around your waist. Heero. Your smile widened when he snuggled up against you, his chest pressing against your back, his face buried in your hair. You felt wonderfully rested. You groaned when a loud squeal pierced through the air. 

“He’s gonna do that for at least a few hours,” you murmured groggily, knowing that it was Brandon who had squealed so loudly.

Heero grunted something in response, but your mind was too hazy to figure out what he was saying. You cracked open an eye and glanced at the old fashioned alarm clock on the nightstand. It was nine in the morning. 

“Our child is not going to be allowed out of bed before ten,” you said.

A sleepy chuckle escaped him. “It’s going to take a while for it to learn how to watch the time.”

You grunted. “If it has some of your super abilities, it won’t take that long… hopefully.”

You turned over on your other side and snuggled into his chest. His hand came up to play with your hair. You felt a little nauseous, but it wasn’t as bad as usual. 

“Are you feeling alright?” he asked. 

“It’s not so bad this morning,” you said softly. You closed your eyes in bliss when he started to gently massage your scalp. 

“So…” he started. “What are the plans for today?”

“Probably hanging around, catching up on the things that happened since the last weekend we spend here. Mama’s going to be busy hearing each one of us out,” you said. “She always does.”

“Do you think she has any plans to interrogate me?” he asked.

“I’m sure she has.” You gave him a small smile. “But she’ll be nice. She likes you.”

Something in his eyes changed and his shoulders relaxed a bit. “That’s good to know.”

You pondered his reaction to your words. Had he been worried about your parents’ opinion about him? The thought was endearing and made you smile. However, your moment of bliss was broken when a wave of nausea hit you unexpectedly. You were quick to roll away from him and made a grab for the bucket on the ground. You felt Heero pull your hair back when you emptied your stomach contents in the bucket. 

You groaned. “Damn it.”

“Want me to get you a washcloth?” he asked.

“Yeah…” You sat up slowly, feeling embarrassed that he had to see you like this. 

Heero left the bed and quickly grabbed a pair of sweatpants from his bag. He put them on before leaving the room. You propped your pillow up against the headboard and leaned back against it. You put the bucket back down on the ground as the nausea slowly faded. Heero came back and handed you a washcloth. 

“Are you okay?” he asked you, while you wiped your face.

“I’ll be in a few minutes,” you said.

“Do you want me to get you some water?” 

You met his eyes and saw the concern in them. “Some tea.”

“Sure.” He turned on his heel and prepared to leave the room.

You called him back. “Heero?”

“Hmm?”

“Mama is going to have a heart attack if you go downstairs without a shirt,” you said.

He halted and gave you an incredulous stare. “Are you worrying about that now?”

You scowled. “Yes.”

He muttered something under his breath and went back to his bag. He yanked out a shirt and put it on while leaving the room. You decided your stomach was behaving itself enough for you to wash out the bucket in the bathroom. You brushed your teeth, before going back to your room. You seated yourself on the bed again and took a deep breath. 

You started to feel a little better, but you knew you couldn’t eat for at least another hour. You hoped the tea would calm your stomach. Heero came walking into the room, carrying two mugs. He handed you one of them and you gave him a grateful smile.

“Thanks,” you said softly. 

He sat down next to you and sipped from his own mug. “Are you feeling better?”

“A little.” You scooted closer to him and leaned against his side. 

His body radiated warmth and you huddled against him, enjoying being so close to him. He turned his head to nuzzle your hair. You reached out and slipped your hand into his.

“Can we keep this to ourselves for a while?” you asked him.

“That depends,” he said with a small smirk. 

You rolled your eyes. “I’m being very serious right now.”

“I know.” He pressed his lips against your forehead. “How long is a while?”

You shrugged.

“I don’t know. But…” You gave him a smile, before continuing. “That doesn’t mean we can’t see each other.”

“Hn.” He sipped his coffee, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Alright.”

You gave his hand a squeeze and finished your tea. You put the mug down on the nightstand and moved, snuggling under the sheets with your head resting on his lap. “Tell me something about you I don’t know yet.”

“That only seems fair after what you told me last night.” He gave you a wry smile. His fingers came to caress your cheek. “I suffered from post traumatic stress disorder after the war.”

“Really?” you gazed up at him in surprise.

The idea of him suffering from something like that seemed so farfetched. He was so strong. But on the other hand… he had been a boy when he had fought in the war. A trauma was a logical result of such a huge thing. It made him human. And it made you respect him all the more that he wanted to tell you about it.

“I tried to build a life for myself on the colonies after the war. At first, I thought I was doing fine. Until the nightmares started.” His face held a distant expression, as if he was lost in his memories. “I realized I couldn’t keep on ignoring what had happened, so I sought help.”

“That was very brave of you,” you said softly. “A lot of people know they have a problem, but they don’t do anything to fix it. Or they don’t admit it at all.”

“Duo is such a person,” he said quietly. “He was struggling just as much as I was, but he didn’t want to admit it to himself. I couldn’t be around him in the beginning, because I was afraid he might… you know… pull me down with him while I was trying to heal. ”

“Did he-”

“When he found out that I was in therapy, he started to realize that he might need it as well,” Heero said, while winding a lock of your hair around his finger. “I got over it. And I decided that I might as well put all the skills I have to good use. So I went back to Brussels and applied for a job at the Preventers.”

“How long have you been in therapy?” you asked him, while bringing your entwined hands up so you could kiss his fingers. 

“For two years.” His thump rubbed the palm of your hand, sending small shocks of sensations up your arm. “I still see the shrink at the headquarters regularly.”

You lay in silence for a while, pondering what he had just told you. “So why was it that you kept hold of the cold facade?”

“It was easy, a trusted pattern.” He sighed. “Maybe it makes me a bit of a coward.”

“You’re not and you know it.” You gave him a heated look. 

His lips twitched into a small smile. “You give me too much credit.”

“I’m biased.” You admitted with a grin. “ **But** … in the beginning I wasn’t, and I knew you were a nice guy then. And I knew you were one of the bravest field agents we have.”

“And when did you become biased?” he asked with a teasing undertone in his voice.

You blushed and turned your head away from him. “When you first kissed me. But in Mexico… the way you were… are you really like that?”

“I’ve never acted around you, if that is what you mean,” he said. 

You met his eyes again. “I never doubted you. You’re very honest. I admire that about you, because I wasn’t.”

“What do you mean?” he asked. His hand tightened around yours.

“I wasn’t honest towards you. I was in denial,” you said softly, while sitting up. You sat facing him and cupped his cheek. “And I’m sorry about that.”

He gave you a small smile and took hold of your wrist. He pressed a kiss against the palm of your hand. “You have a stubborn streak.”

You bit your lip to keep yourself from smiling. “Maybe.”

He chuckled and pulled you closer, cuddling you against his chest. He rested his cheek against your hair and you snuggled into him. 

“When you had nightmares… What did you dream about?” you asked him.

He was silent for a long time before he answered. “Different things. All the mistakes I made, the people I killed.” His voice was quiet and heavy with the effect his past still had on him. “Sometimes I can still hear them screaming.”

You wrapped your arms around his waist and hoped that you could give him some comfort. “Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s okay.” He pressed a kiss against your temple. “You have a right to know about it.”

You smiled against his shoulder. His scent filled your nostrils with every breath you took and you couldn’t help but take in another whiff of that wonderful smell. 

“We should get up,” you said softly. “Mama will have breakfast ready for everyone.”

“Hmm…”

“I’ll go and take a shower.” You slowly pulled away from his embrace and gave him a smile.

You stood up and made your way to your trolley. You pulled out a light blue summer dress and some underwear, before making your way to the bathroom. A blurry eyed Luka tried to beat you to it, but you shot him a grin before closing the door in his face.

“You’ll have to wait, brother dear,” you teased him through the door.

You heard him slam his hand against the wood with a groan. “How come you’re so awake at this time?”

“Morning sickness.”

“You make it sound like it’s a good thing.” You heard him rest his back against the door with a thud. 

You turned on the shower and started undressing. “Well… it certainly wakes you up. I’ll be done in a few!”

You stepped under the warm cascade of water for a quick shower. You thought back on what had happened the night before. Although you weren’t completely sure of what you felt for Heero, you were certain that you could fall in love with him. And you wanted to make him happy. After seeing him interact with your family the night before, you had felt so warm on the inside. Something had stirred in your heart. You were glad your family had been so accepting of him. It was important to you that they liked him, and vice versa. 

After your shower, you quickly got dressed and left the bathroom. Luka was sitting on the ground, leaning his back against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway. He looked totally hung over and you gave him a cheerful grin, just to tease him a bit.

“So… how bad is the headache?” you asked him.

“Don’t ask.” He scowled and got up.

He made his way into the bathroom and closed the door. You chuckled and made your way back to your room. Heero was sitting in window seat. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and he looked deep in thought as he gazed outside. You made your way over to him after you had dumped your pajamas onto the bed. You smiled at the sight of Brandon and Lana playing on the lawn in the backyard. Mikhail was with them and chased them around, making them laugh and squeal. You always enjoyed watching Mikhail with his children and the obvious love he felt for them.

You rested a hand on Heero’s shoulder. “In a few years, you’ll be like that too.”

You saw his lips twitch into a small smile. He turned his head and met your eyes, and you felt heat rise to your cheeks at the warm glint in them. 

“You think?” he asked you with an amused undertone in his voice.

You reached out and cupped his cheek. You couldn’t seem to keep yourself from touching him. It felt intimate to feel his skin pressed against your fingers, to feel the warmth he radiated. “Hmm… yes.”

His hands slid around your waist and pulled you closer. Your arms wrapped around his neck as he rested his head against your shoulder. Together you gazed outside. 

“Bathroom’s free!” you heard Luka call once he exited the bathroom.

“I’ll go and take a shower,” Heero said quietly. 

“Yeah. I’ll be downstairs. See if Mama needs some help.”

“Hn.” He let go of you when you stepped away from him.

You went downstairs and found Nadia and Denise preparing breakfast. Cecilia was sitting at the kitchen table and she looked up when you entered the kitchen. 

“Good morning,” you said, while making your way over to your mother. “Need help?”

Nadia piled pancakes onto a plate. “How is your stomach?”

“Good enough I think,” you said, while taking the plate to the table. 

The back door opened and Brandon stormed in, followed by Lana. Both children were laughing hysterically and squealed when Mikhail came in after them. He grabbed both around the waist and lifted them up. Luka choose that moment to enter the kitchen, and winced as two identical squeals pierced the air. 

“My head, you little monsters!” He groaned and sat down at the table. 

Cecilia kissed him in on the cheek and smiled. “Take some aspirin.”

“No. I’m not a baby.” He made a grab for the coffee pot and filled one of the mugs on the table. 

“How come you’re so peachy?” he asked Mikhail.

The older man smirked and sat down opposite him, settling both of his children on his lap. “That’s my secret.”

Denise rolled her eyes as she carried a plate with toast to the breakfast table and you grinned. 

“You’re such a pig,” Luka muttered. He sipped his coffee and then rested his forehead against his arm.

“No sleeping at the table, Luka,” Nadia said, while sitting down as well.

You heard a lot of noise coming from the hallway, and the next moment your father came in, followed by Alex and Ilya. All three of them were carrying bags full of groceries. 

“Breakfast first,” Nadia said, while mentioning them over after they put the bags down on the counter. “-Y/N-, where is Heero?”

“Taking a shower. I think he’ll be here soon,” you said, while reaching for some toast.

As on cue, Heero walked in. His hair was still damp and when he sat down next to you, you caught a whiff of that damn wonderful cologne he again. You felt heat rise to your cheeks and didn’t dare to meet his eyes. You caught the look that Denise sent in your direction and scowled at her.

Breakfast was noisy as it always was with your family. You nibbled on the toast with jam, hoping you could keep it down. Nadia was grilling Alexi about his work, and turned her attention towards Mikhail afterwards. You were grateful she wouldn’t ask you questions with all the others present. You jumped when Heero pressed his knee against your thigh under the table. You swallowed, before daring to look at him, but he was engrossed in his plate of pancakes. Or pretending to be. 

Feeling a little mischievous, you moved your foot and rubbed it along his calve. “Pass me the milk, Luka,” you said casually. 

You felt Heero’s gaze on you, but you pretended not to notice. You poured milk in a glass and slipped your foot down his calve and rested it on top of his. It was fun to tease him like this without the others noticing. 

You smiled and focused on your toast again.

-x-x-x-

You spent your day updating your parents on your life in Brussels, playing with Brandon and Lana, and stealing kisses from Heero. It felt great to be so carefree and you felt damn wonderful every time he looked at you. 

You laughed as he pulled you around the corner of the house, away from sight. His hands slid around your waist and he pulled you closer, before slanting his lips over yours. You clung to him, enjoying the attention he bestowed upon you. You sighed when his hand came up to cradle the back of your head, his fingers tangling in your hair. You sagged against him when his tongue darted out to run over your bottom lip. 

You pulled back from the kiss and smiled at him. “This is kinda risky.”

He shrugged and leaned in for another kiss. “It might be.”

You grinned and slid a hand down his arm, enjoying the feeling of strong muscles under his skin. You entwined your fingers with his and rested your head against his shoulder for a moment. He nuzzled your hair and you smiled when he sighed contently. He enjoyed this just as much as you did. 

“-Y/N-!”

You sighed at the sound of Alexi’s voice and pulled back from Heero. “I have to go. Mama probably wants some help in the kitchen.”

“Hmm…” he pressed a kiss against your lips before letting go of you.

You made your way back into the house and indeed found your mother, Denise, and Cecilia in the kitchen. They were preparing dinner and you joined them. 

“So…” Nadia started, while handing you a plate with potatoes. “Is Heero enjoying himself?”

You smiled at her. “I think so, yes.”

“I’m sure he is,” Alexi barged into the kitchen and grinned. “I saw them smooching not too long ago.”

You blushed scarlet and threw a potato at his head. “Shut up, you pig!”

Alexi snatched the potato from the air before it could hit him and scowled at you. “That’s not nice!”

Nadia turned towards you with a wide smile on her face. “Is it true then?”

You scowled. It seemed like your plan to keep you and Heero a secret for a while, was in the gutter. Oh well… “So what if it is?”

“There, she admitted it!” Denise jumped in gleefully. “So the two of you are together, right?”

"Sort of,” you said, while turning your attention back to the potatoes on the plate.

“What do you mean ‘sort of’?” Denise asked. 

You scowled at her. “It means exactly that. I’m still figuring out what I feel.”

“I see…” She gave Nadia a conspiring smile. “Well, you have to be crazy not to fall in love with a man like that.”

“Shut up,” you said with a grin. “You’re married to my brother, who is very handsome, I might add.”

Alexi grinned. “We’re all handsome, -Y/N-!”

You rolled your eyes. “You need to shut up, Alexi.”

“I already noticed something was up this morning. You started blushing the moment Heero sat down next to you,” Cecilia said from her place at the table where she was making the salad. You blinked at her and she giggled at your stupefied expression. “Really! It was quite adorable.”

Oh hell, you actually started to like her… somewhat. You still couldn’t really let go of the fact that she had been ogling Heero, but now she seemed genuine.

“I saw it too!” Denise teased. 

You blushed. “So?”

“Don’t worry, Milaya moya.” Nadia patted your shoulder affectionately. “We’re just teasing you.”

“I know.” You gave her a smile. “I can’t even try and get angry at any of you.”

Alexi grinned. “Thanks.”

“ **Except** for you.” You gave him a pointed look, but grinned to soften the expression. “Sometimes I need someone I can yell at.”

“Well now you have Hee-” Alexi cut himself off when the screen door opened and slammed shut, signaling someone had entered the house.

“No really,” you said dryly. “I prefer yelling at you. I can use two languages, instead of one.”

“Colorful right?” Mikhail came into the kitchen and caught the last part of your sentence.

You smirked. “Very.”

-x-x-x-

After dinner, you wandered to what had been your favorite room as a child. Heero seemed to enjoy himself and you found that you could leave him alone with your brothers without fear of any of them getting ugly at him. You opened the door and clicked on the light before stepping into the room. You smiled and breathed in the magical atmosphere the room carried for you.

The dance studio had been your favorite room when you had been younger. Floor to ceiling mirrors lined the two walls on both your sides, while the wall directly in front of you was lined with huge windows that let in the late evening sun. The sky was coloring pink in the distance and you sighed dreamily.

“I thought I might find you here.” Nadia stepped into the room.

You turned around and smiled at her. “It’s still magical, don’t you think?”

She smiled warmly and nodded. Your father had built your mother this dance studio. As a child you had demanded her time and time again to tell you the story about how they fell in love. The American student and the Russian Prima Ballerina of the Russian Ballet in Paris. They had met and fallen in love on first sight. Your mother had followed your father to the States and they had gotten married, despite the protests of his family. A man choosing a woman unconditionally. That was real romance to you. 

“You keep up your dancing?” Nadia asked.

You nodded. “Yes… But I will never be as good as any of the guys.”

You meant your brothers. As teenagers they had formed their own dance squad. Mikhail still worked as a hip hop choreographer, but your other brothers had quit the professional dancing. You had been part of the dance squat for a while, but had given up when you had moved to Brussels. And besides… anyone could see that you weren’t as good as the four dark-haired, handsome men.

Nadia smiled. “You have the passion.”

“Just not the genes,” you added with a grin. 

She chuckled. “Right…”

You looked around the room once more and walked over to the large windows on the other side. You gazed outside. Nadia joined you. 

“Just so you know…” she said warmly, “That boy cares more for you than he lets on.”

You bit your lip and nodded slowly. “I know…”

“No, not like that.” She shook her head and you turned towards her with a surprised look on your face.

“What do you mean?” you asked.

“I mean…” She reached out and cupped your cheek. “That he loves you.”

Your breath hitched in your throat and you felt your heartbeat speed up. “W-what?”

She smiled. “Have you not noticed the way he looks at you?”

You stepped back and turned your attention back to the world outside, so that she wasn’t able to gauge your expression. Her words had left you reeling. Was there a possibility that Heero loved you? Really loved you? Was that why he… You blinked at the unexpected tears that pricked in your eyes. You took a deep breath, before pressing your hands over your eyes. Was that why he had proposed marriage as one of the options when he had found out that you were pregnant? 

“Are you alright?” Your mother asked you, while wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

You nodded. “Yes… it’s just these damn hormones.”

She wrapped both her arms around you and comforted you. You huddled in her familiar and comforting embrace, enjoying the warm feeling it had always brought you. 

“Mama?” you asked her. “How do you know when you’re in love with someone?”

She pulled back and gave you a warm smile. “When you can’t imagine being without them anymore.”

“Is that what you feel when you’re around Dad?”

She nodded. “And I’m sure you will feel that for Heero in the future.”

You gave her a watery smile. “You think?”

“Yes. Actually, I think you might already feel it.” She grinned at you. “But you’re too stubborn to admit it to yourself.”

“I need time,” you admitted, “to figure everything out. But it’s so overwhelming sometimes. In less than nine months I will be a mother, and that fact alone is so big. And I know he tries so hard for me to see what he can offer me, but…” You paused and swallowed, before meeting her eyes. “I’m afraid.”

“That is alright, Milaya Moya.” She pulled you into a hug again. “Love isn’t easy.”

You held onto her tightly. “I have to be enough for him.”

“Is that what you are afraid of?” she asked you.

You nodded. “Yes… and even more of ending up like my biological mother.”

“But it will never be like that, because we love you, -Y/N-. We won’t abandon you like her family abandoned her.” She kissed your cheek and gave you an affectionate smile. “We will always be there for you. So be a little more daring and take the plunge.”

You smiled. “Thank you, Mama.”

“You’re welcome, Dear.” She squeezed your hands, before leading you out of the room.

You slowly made your way back to the living room, and smiled once you caught sight of Heero. It would be alright… You would figure everything out. Your heart skipped a beat when he looked at you. He gave you a small smile and you couldn’t resist the urge to make your way over to where he was sitting on the couch. You cuddled into his side and rested your head against his shoulder. His scent washed over you and you inhaled deeply. 

Oh yeah… you were sure everything would be alright in the end. 

**\- End part 4 -**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m by no means an expert in the Russian language. I looked up a couple of words and phrases on the internet, so here they are with the translation the internet has given me:
> 
> Milaya moya = My sweet  
> Moya printsessa = My princess  
> Suka = Bitch
> 
> Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this part! :D


	5. Part 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning to post this a little earlier, but I got caught up in writing something new. LOL.
> 
> Anyway, here’s the fifth part! Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing, its characters, or you.

**Every Moment  
Part 5**

_Outskirts of Brussels, Brussels, AC 203_

You struggled to open your eyes as Heero pulled up in front of your house. He turned off the engine of his car and reached out to trail his fingers over your cheek.

“Wake up,” he said, while leaning over to nuzzle your hair.

“Hmm…” You opened heavy lidded eyes and blinked. “I’m so tired.”

“Let’s get you inside.” He pressed a kiss against your cheek, before unbuckling his seat belt. 

He got out of the car and opened the trunk to get out your trolley. You yawned, while unbuckling your own seat belt. You got out of the car as well and smiled when he came and wrapped his arm around you. He led you to the door and you fished in your jacket’s pocket for your keys. 

You pushed your hair out of your face as you opened the door. “Do you want to come in?” you asked him.

“Are you sure? I think you should catch some sleep,” he said, while studying your face.

You gave him a small smile and took his hand, pulling him inside. “I’ve slept in the plane and in the car. I’ll be fine.” You pulled off your jacket and hung it up.

He kicked the door shut and pulled you into his arms. “Alright then.”

You smiled and wrapped your arms around his neck, pressing your face against his chest. The leather of his jacket was soft and worn against the skin of your cheek. He kissed the top of your head, while one of his hands tangled in your hair. You sighed in bliss and closed your eyes with a small smile.

“You’re going to fall asleep standing up, I think,” he murmured in your hair.

“Well, carry me to bed then,” you murmured back.

His fingers curled around your chin and tilted your head back. He was smirking at you and you raised an eyebrow in question.

“You know better than to tempt me,” he said, his voice dangerously low.

You swallowed as butterflies exploded in your stomach and managed a smile. “I didn’t know you had such a loose hold on your control.”

His smirk widened and he leaned in to capture your mouth with his. Your eyes slid shut as he kissed you deeply, his tongue delving past your lips to taste you. You couldn’t do anything but hold onto him. In the past few days, he had kissed you countless times but you couldn’t get used to the feeling of his lips pressed against yours. Every time he kissed you, there would be something different, something new to discover. And you enjoyed every single second of it. 

Heero caged you between his arms against the wall and slipped his thigh between your legs. One of your hands tangled in his hair, while the other moved to unzip his jacked. You slid your arm around his waist under his jacket, enjoying the warmth he radiated. You slipped your hand under his shirt en trailed your fingers along the skin of his lower back. His skin was hot to the touch, almost burning against your fingers. The warmth tingled up your arm and spread throughout your body with a rush of desire. 

You gasped when he nipped your bottom lip, sending yet another rush through your body. Your knees buckled, but his hand left its position on the wall to clamp around your waist, effectively holding your up. He pressed closer to you, his body hard against yours. You could feel his arousal press against your thigh, evidence of his desire for you. You shifted closer to him still and his arms wrapped around you, crushing your breasts against the hard planes of his chest. You couldn’t stop the moan that build in your throat. 

He pulled back to look at you and you had trouble regaining sense of where you were. Your breathing was irregular and you gasped in some much needed air, while resting your forehead against his shoulder.

“This is a bad idea,” he said.

Your head shot up and you gazed up at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”

He gave you a hint of a smile and touched his finger to your lips, memorizing the shape of them. You trembled under his ministrations, utterly helpless under the force of your desire. 

“I’m not going to rush you. Not again.” He pressed his lips against your forehead.

You blinked, confused. What did he mean? “Heero-” 

He interrupted you. “It’s too soon.”

Maybe he was right. 

“We could also just sleep,” you said quietly.

He chuckled and stooped down to lift you up, bridal style. You wrapped your arms around his neck and smiled in triumph.

“Where to?” he asked.

You laughed and gestured, while he took you up the staircase and into your bedroom. He halted for a moment with you in his arms, taking in the ambiance of the room. His eyes raved over the wrought iron canopy bed with its soft cotton sheets and plump pillows, the soft colors, the cream colored furniture and the classic decorations, before finally coming to rest on your face.

“I’m almost afraid to take you to my apartment,” he commented dryly.

You grinned and kissed his cheek. “It can’t be that bad.”

He chuckled and carried you over to the bed. You kicked off your shoes before he set you down on the ground. You pushed at his jacket, wanting him to take it off. 

“My bag is still in my car,” he murmured.

“So? My trolley is still downstairs. We’ll worry about it in the morning,” you said, while leaning in to nibble on his jaw line. 

His hands slid into your hair to cradle the back of your head and hold you in place. You smiled against his skin and trailed your lips along his neck. He tilted his head slightly to give you better access, a shuddering breath escaping him. No matter how much he didn’t want to rush you, he couldn’t help but enjoy your caresses. You smirked and kissed your way up to his ear. His breath hitched when you nibbled on his earlobe. 

“-Y/N-,” he murmured in warning.

“Sorry.” You pulled back and grinned at him.

You stepped away from him and made your way towards your dresser. You pulled open one of the drawers and pulled out a nightgown. “I’m going to change.”

“Hn…”

You went into the adjoining bathroom to change and brushed your teeth afterwards. You hunted through the cabinet above the sink for an extra toothbrush for him and found a new one behind a few bottles of shampoo. You put it down on the edge of the sink and ventured back into the bedroom. 

“I’ve put an extra toothbrush for you on the edge of the sink,” you said, while entering the room. 

You stopped short when you found him pulling off the grey t-shit he was wearing. You swallowed at the sight of the strong muscles he had revealed. A longing to touch him took over your body and you moved forward, wrapping your arms around him from behind. You slid your hands up to his chest, while pressing your lips against his shoulder. 

“I’m sorry,” you murmured against his skin. “I can’t seem to stop myself.”

It took a while for you to identify the rumbling in his chest as laughter. “How come?”

You nipped on the corded muscle along his neck. “You shouldn’t go around without a shirt. It’s illegal to look that good.”

His hands came up to entwine with yours and he turned his head to look at you over his shoulder. His eyes were dark and stormy and you swallowed. He turned around and gazed at the nightgown you were wearing.

“No, it should be illegal for you to wear things like that,” he said.

You couldn’t stop yourself from grinning. “I thought I’d be nice, because you were complaining about my sleeping attire back at my parents’.”

You were wearing a clingy white nightgown with lace stitched along the hem. It hugged your curves, just like the black one you had worn in Mexico.

“On second thought… I like those pants and t-shirt a lot more at the moment.” He pulled you closer and pressed a kiss against your forehead. 

You giggled and stepped back. “I’ll get covered up then.”

Heero gave you an amused look, before making his way into the bathroom. You quickly went downstairs to make sure the door was locked and made your way into the bedroom again. You got under the sheets after you had closed the curtains. Heero came walking into the room again when you were setting the alarm and you gave him a small smile.

“Better make sure we’re on time at work tomorrow,” you said.

“Hn…” He unfastened his jeans and pulled them off, throwing them over the chair in the corner.

You held open the sheets for him and were quick to snuggle up against him when he joined you in bed. His arms settled around your waist. 

You stifled a yawn and sighed in bliss. “Hmm…”

“Go to sleep,” he told you, while turning off the light.

“Sure, sure…” you muttered.

He raised a hand to run it through your hair. But it was lost to you as you were already deep asleep.

-x-x-x-

“How was the family weekend?” Michelle asked you as you joined her and Sam for coffee break the following morning.

“It was great,” you beamed with a smile. “My mother adored Heero from the moment she saw him.”

“Really?” Michelle gave you a surprised stare. “What did he do to accomplish that?”

“Nothing much really.” You grinned at her. “He seems to loosen up a bit.”

“That’s good,” Sam said with a smile. 

“Luka’s got a new girlfriend,” you said after sipping your tea. “I don’t know what to think of her.”

“Let me guess… another bimbo?” Michelle asked. “Your brother needs to change his taste in women.”

“She was ogling Heero like crazy the first night. She even tried to hear me out about him,” you said.

“My, my… Aren’t you sounding jealous,” Sam teased you.

You scowled at her. “I wasn’t. Anyway… the next day she was all over Luka, so I guess she has lost her interest.”

“Hi Ladies!” Duo approached the table with a Starbucks cup in his hand. “Mind if we join you?”

Heero was with him and you fought the urge to smile at him when he sat down next to you.

“Une wants to talk to us about our mission,” Heero said quietly, while Duo was deep in conversation with Michelle and Sam.

You paled. “Why?”

“I don’t know. Don’t worry about it.” Under the table he pressed his knee against yours. “If you come to my office after break, I can show you the email she wrote me.”

You gave him an incredulous stare. “Can’t you just forward it to me?”

He gave you a look that clearly told you he wanted to talk to you in private about the matter. 

You swallowed. “Alright then…”

When your coffee break was over, you followed Heero to his office. Sheila was seated behind her desk and she looked up to give Heero a dazzling smile. That smile turned into frost the moment she saw you.

“Good morning,” she said with an icy undertone in her voice.

“Good morning,” you greeted her back, just as cool.

You followed Heero into his office and shut the door behind you. Heero sat down behind his desk and logged onto his computer. You stood next to him and watched as he opened the email Une had sent him.

“It can’t be about what happened between us,” you said, after you had read the email. “She knows about it and didn’t seem to be bothered about it.”

Heero gave you a surprised look. “What?”

You bit your lip and gave him a small smile. “Sorry. I forgot to tell you. I went to see her two weeks ago.”

“Hn…” Heero turned his attention back to the computer screen. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back in his chair, clearly deep in thought about why Une would want to see you both. “I guess we’ll hear it from her then. She’ll probably have send you an email as well by now.”

You nodded. “Probably. I’ll go and check it.”

You started to step away, but his hand snaked around your wrist and stopped you. You gave him a puzzled look. You had agreed not to get too close during working hours. You couldn’t use the distraction and what was going on between you and him was a private matter. You weren’t going to flaunt the fact that you and Heero had hooked up. It was none’s business.

“Let’s go out for dinner tonight,” he said quietly.

“I… Sure.” You smiled at him.

“I’ll pick you up at six.”

You nodded and once more prepared to leave his office. He raised your hand to his face and kissed your fingers.

“Heero…” you said softly. “This isn’t the time or place.”

He grinned at you. “Sorry.”

He let go of your hand and you left his office, focusing on getting the silly smile of your face. 

-x-x-x-

A few weeks later, it was time for your first ultrasound. You were excited and nervous at the same time. You were going to see your baby on a screen! You couldn’t wait to see it, hear its heartbeat. A few days prior to the appointment you had had your first check up with your obstetrician and she had been very positive about your pregnancy’s progress. 

Heero went with you to the hospital. While you couldn’t sit still in the waiting room, he seemed to be very calm. You scooted closer to him and entwined your hand with his. 

“Aren’t you excited?” you asked him quietly.

He gave you a small smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You seem awfully calm,” you said with a grin.

“It only seems that way, because you are almost bouncing in your seat.”

You attempted to scowl at him, but only ended up laughing to yourself. “You’re right. Sorry.”

His arm settled around your shoulder with comfortable ease and you leaned into him. You rested your head against his shoulder and breathed in his scent. 

You had gotten to know him better in the past few weeks too. You knew now that behind the cold facade was a warm and kind man with a dry sense of humor. A man you could rely on, who made you feel secure. And beautiful. Every time he looked at you, you could feel heat settle in the pit of your stomach. It was hard not to give in to the desire you felt for him, but you weren’t ready for sex yet. 

In the past few weeks you had come dangerously close to giving in a few times. He had been the one to stop things from getting out of hand. You knew you had to be driving him crazy. Especially that one time on the couch in his apartment, when you had pulled off his shirt and had rained kisses onto his broad chest. You could still recall the feeling of his skin, warm and supple, under your mouth. And the taste. You remembered how he had felt beneath you, his hips shifting restlessly beneath your thighs. And just like that he had stopped. 

A nurse stepped out in the hallway and called your name. You stood up and swallowed before meeting Heero’s eyes. He gave your hand a gentle squeeze and led you out of the waiting room. The doctor gave you a friendly smile and ran through a quick check on your personal details and the notes from the obstetrician, before directing you towards the bed. You lay down and lifted your shirt so that your belly was exposed. Heero sat down in a chair next to the bed as the doctor poured a cold gel over your belly. You bit your lip in anticipation as she placed the transducer against your skin and started moving it over your belly. Your eyes were transfixed on the screen, eager to see the little life that was growing inside you.

You gasped as a rapid heartbeat reached your ears. Heero’s hand slipped around yours but you couldn’t tear your eyes away from the screen.

“There it is,” the doctor said with a smile. 

Your vision blurred with happy tears as a wave of emotion crashed down on you. Love flooded through your veins and you blinked rapidly to clear your vision. 

“There is the head.” The doctor pointed at the screen.

You watched with growing wonder and fascination at the image on the screen as the doctor explained that your baby was developing as it should. There is was. Your baby. A smile tugged at your lips and you turned your head to look at Heero. He was staring at the screen intently, his gaze completely focused. Anyone might think that he wasn’t affected, but you had learned to look past the mask and found the same emotions you were experiencing swirling just beneath the surface. You reached out and touched his cheek. His gaze snapped to you and you smiled at him.

“This is perfect don’t you think?” you asked him, your voice thick with emotion.

His lips tilted in response and he nodded. His hold on your hand tightened. You turned your gaze back to the screen again. 

“Judging by this, I think your due date will be January third,” the doctor said, after you had wiped the gel from your stomach with a paper towel.

She handed you a couple of printed photos from the ultrasound. You gazed at the images on the squares of paper with a fond smile on your face. “Thank you.”

She gave you a kind smile in return. “Your next ultrasound will be planned around the twentieth week of your pregnancy,” she said, while sitting down behind her desk. “This will be in the second week of September.”

You nodded and tore your attention away from the photos in your hand. You gave them to Heero and focused on setting up the appointment. 

Later, when you stood outside the hospital you couldn’t stop yourself from grinning. You felt exhilarated, happy. Damn wonderful. Heero’s hand settled on the small of your back and guided you in the direction of his car. When you reached it, you grabbed the lapels of his Preventer jacket and pulled him towards you for a kiss. His arm snaked around your waist, while his free hand tangled in your hair. 

“That was…” you murmured, after you pulled back from the kiss. “I mean…”

Heero’s fingers caressed over your cheek and you smiled at him.

“It was perfect,” he said with quiet conviction.

You bit your lip and nodded with a blush staining your cheeks. You fidgeted with the collar of his T-shirt, sliding your fingers underneath it to touch his collar bone. 

“I never thought it would be so… magical.” You touched your hand to your stomach.

Heero’s hand came to cover yours and he pressed a kiss against your forehead. You smiled and rested your head against his shoulder.

“We’re going to be late for work,” he said.

You chuckled and pulled back. “Right…”

You made your way around the car and opened the door on the passenger’s side. During the drive to work, Heero spoke up. “How is your research coming along?”

“Fine.” You gave him a smile and relaxed in your seat. 

The reason why Une wanted to see you and Heero a few weeks earlier was because she was pleased with the work the two had done before and during your mission in April. She saw the value of your work and how it enhanced Heero’s. So for Heero’s next mission you were to do research again. He would be teamed with Wufei and Une had appointed you the task of choosing a partner for your research. You hadn’t hesitated and asked Sam to join you. 

You had made great process in your research of a secret base in one of the smaller colonies in the L5 cluster. It was rumored that a new secret organization was developing weaponry there. So far, you had only found small indications of the existence of such a group, but you had found out that the secret base existed. It was an old OZ facility and it had slipped the Preventer’s notice in the early years of the organization. It was time to close it down for good.

“How about we meet up on Monday? Sam and I could update you guys on the process,” you said.

“Sure.” 

You rested your hand on top of his when he shifted gears. “You will be careful when you go out there, won’t you?”

He glanced at you from the corner of his eyes. “I’m always careful.”

“I mean that I’m expecting you back in one piece.” You gave him a pointed look.

His lips twitched in amusement. “You don’t have to worry about me, -Y/N-.”

You narrowed your eyes. “You’re going to be a fath-”

“Why else would Une team me up with Wufei on this mission?” he interrupted you. “She knows I have a responsibility now.”

You sighed. “I know.”

“And since you neglected to tell her we weren’t together at the time, she immediately assumed-”

This time you interrupted him. “My private life is none of Une’s business.”

He smirked and continued. “She assumed that you wouldn’t be too happy, if she send me off with a less experienced partner.”

You wanted to scowl at his smug tone. He enjoyed teasing you about the fact that you hadn’t told Une that you and Heero hadn’t been together when you had gone to tell her that you were pregnant. Apparently, it was a huge boost to his ego. All the pregnancy hormones in your body made you retaliate every time he brought it up. Arguing with him about it was fun. The arguments were heated and passionate and afterwards you could always laugh about it. You wondered if every argument you would have with him would end with laughter. 

“I’ve been thinking about telling the others,” he said suddenly.

“Yeah. Me too,” you said with a smile. “But… I’m not planning on shouting it from the rooftops.”

“Why is that?” he asked teasingly. “Are you ashamed of me?”

You gave him a good once over. Never in your life would you be ashamed of being with someone like Heero. He was too damn gorgeous for that. And too kind a person.

“I could never be ashamed of you, Heero,” you said softly, while resting your hand on his thigh. “But I know there are women who would be glad to stick a knife in my back because I’m dating you.”

“You mean Sheila?” he asked. “And we’re not just dating. Dating isn’t the appropriate word for what is going on between us.”

You rolled your eyes. “You get what I mean.”

“Sheila can be easily taken care of. And besides…” Heero pulled into the parking garage beneath the Preventer Headquarters. “I think it’s time she learns her place.”

“Yes. Behind her desk and not on top of yours,” you said with venom in your voice.

“That sounds a lot like jealousy.”

You shot him a smirk. “Wouldn’t you get jealous if one of our colleagues started ogling me?”

“They wouldn’t dare.”

“You’re right. You’ll just have to glare at them to send them running.”

Heero found an empty parking space and turned off his car. He turned towards you and cupped the back of your head, pulling you towards him. You almost wanted to protest. After all, you were at Preventer Headquarters and anyone could walk by and see you. But the look in his eyes was enough to keep you from voicing those protests. They burned like liquid fire and you felt utterly lost in them.

“You need to watch that mouth of yours,” he said huskily.

“Or else?” you decided to taunt him a bit.

He smirked and slanted his mouth over yours in a deep kiss. You clung to him, your hands fisting around the lapels of his jacket as his tongue seduced yours in a heated dance. His scent enveloped you, a combination of leather, man, and a lingering hint of that damned cologne. Sensations rushed through your body, heating your blood with desire. Your thoughts grew muddled as your body grew plaint. He slipped his arm around you, effectively keeping your prisoner. 

Just as abruptly as he had started the kiss, he ended it. He pulled away from you with a muffled curse, his breathing uneven. You gasped for breath, too dazed to speak. You touched your fingers to your lips, noticing that they were swollen from his kiss. You stifled a giggle.

“What are you laughing about?” he asked you, while unbuckling his seatbelt.

“Nothing,” you said with a smile. 

You got out of the car and waited for him to open the trunk, so you could get out your work bag. You made your way to the door that led towards the elevators. 

“So… you’re going to tell the guys?” you asked him.

He nodded.

“What about Relena?”

“What about her?” He gave you an incredulous stare.

“Well… don’t you think she should know?” you asked him.

He shrugged. “I will tell her.”

“Alright…” you said softly, while stepping into the elevator.

It was time to get back into working mode. 

-x-x-x-

Michelle was completely buried in the shitload of work the yearly fundraiser brought her. You were glad you weren’t a project manager like her. On Friday, you met her and Sam in the cafe across from HQ for your weekly talk. 

You grinned once you reached your usual table. “Hi!”

Sam smiled at you and pushed back the empty chair. “Sit and spill.”

You hadn’t been able to talk to them about the ultrasound and the fact that you and Heero were an item yet. You had been too busy during work with the research and too busy seeing Heero after work. But today you would tell them.

You pulled out the printed photos from the ultrasound and noticed that one of them was missing. Heero must have it then. You handed them the photos.

“Oh gosh…” Michelle cooed. “It’s a miniature baby already!”

“Yes. And it’s developing as it should,” you said with a broad smile. “I’m missing one picture. I think Heero has it.”

“And how did he respond to seeing that little wonder on a screen for the first time?” Sam asked while smiling at one of the pictures.

You bit your lip to contain your smile from widening further. Both Sam and Michelle gazed up when they noticed you had fallen silent. 

“-Y/N-?” Sam asked. “Are you alright?”

“Yes. I-” You were interrupted as a waitress came to take your order. You quickly ordered tea before continuing. “I couldn’t be better.”

Michelle raised an eyebrow in question. “Do you need to tell us something?”

You grinned with a light blush staining your cheeks. “Maybe.”

“Well? Out with it!” Sam urged.

“Me and Heero are… you know... An item,” you said.

“WHAT?!? REALLY?” Sam and Michelle exploded in unison, attracting many stares from people in the cafe.

You blush deepened and you nodded. “Yeah.”

“When? How?” Michelle demanded.

“Well… During the family weekend we talked and… somehow we ended up kissing,” you said.

“Just kissing?” Sam asked with a grin.

“We made out,” you admitted. “And since then we have been together.”

“But the family weekend was weeks ago! Weren’t you dying to tell someone?” Michelle asked.

“Strange enough I wasn’t,” you said softly with a small smile. “I was pretty content in this little bubble we created.”

“Have you had sex with him again?” Typically Michelle to ask you that.

You grinned. “Not yet.”

The waitress came to bring your tea. 

“Why not?” Sam asked you, once she had left.

“Because… He doesn’t want to rush me and I’m not ready yet.” You sipped your tea. 

“Oh my… he is really considerate.” Michelle grinned. 

“He is.” Your eyes got a distant look as you got lost in thought, a small smile on your face.

“You’re so in love with him!” Sam exclaimed with a smile. “Just look at you. You’re practically glowing.”

“Sam, that’s what most women do when they’re pregnant,” Michelle said dryly. “Which leaves me to ask how the ultrasound went?”

You blinked. “Right. Well… My due date is January third,” you told them, avoiding the subject of being in love with Heero. It was something you weren’t ready to admit to yourself yet. “And before you’re going to ask: Heero was completely stupefied when he saw the baby on screen. It was really cute.”

“Aw…” Michelle gave a little sigh. “I want a man like that too!”

“Maybe, if you and Duo stopped dancing around the subject of dating, you could land yourself a man like that,” you said with a smirk.

Michelle blushed scarlet. “We don’t!”

“Yes, you do!” Sam said, while wrapping her fingers around her cup. “We all know you two are crazy about each other and yet you don’t do anything about it.”

Michelle mock glared at her. “Like you did anything about liking Wufei.”

“I did.”

“Yes, after Duo blurted out that Wufei like you,” you teased her. “How is it going between the two of you?”

“We’re doing fine,” Sam said. “One minute I want to strangle him, and the next I want to jump him.”

“Well, nothing has changed then.” Michelle chuckled. “By the way, how is Wufei in the sack?”

“He’d kill me if I told you about our sex life,” Sam said with a smug smirk.

You laughed and shook your head. “I’m not going to pry,” you said when Michelle gave you a look that clearly told you she was expecting you to support her. 

“Why the hell not? Aren’t you curious?” she asked you.

You grinned. “I am.”

Sam glared at you.

“But… Wufei can hold a grudge for a very long time,” you said.

Michelle rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

You chuckled. “Maybe you need to start thinking about asking Duo out on a date.”

“I’m not going to! He has to ask me!” Michelle protested.

Sam gave you a conspiring look. “I think we need to help them.”

You grinned. “Maybe,” you agreed.

-x-x-x-

“Who was the first girl you kissed?” you asked Heero one day, while you were lounging against a tree in the park. 

It was a warm day and you enjoyed spending your time outside. Heero was sitting with his back against the tree, while you leaned against him, you head nestled in the crook of his shoulder and neck. His arms were secure around you, one of his hands resting on your slightly swollen belly. The signs of your pregnancy had started to show. 

“Why do you want to know?” he asked. His voice sounded amused.

“Well…” you shrugged. “I’m curious.”

He chuckled and pressed his lips against your temple. “I’ll only tell you, if you tell me who the first guy you kissed was.”

You tilted your head back to gaze at him. He was wearing dark aviator sunglasses, so you couldn’t really see his eyes. He looked smoking hot with those sunglasses and you had had some trouble with breathing the moment he had put them on. You smiled at him. “Deal.”

You sipped the milkshake you had bought at the stall at the entrance of the park and waited for him to tell you.

“The first girl I kissed was Relena,” he said.

You choked on your milkshake and coughed. Heero chuckled and patted your back when you leaned forward. “What?” you managed when you had gotten your breath back.

“Are you okay?” he asked with a smirk.

You hit his shoulder and scowled. “Shut up.”

He pulled you back into his arms. “You wanted to know about it,” he said with clear amusement. “I was sixteen when it happened.”

“But you said you never dated her,” you mumbled.

“I know. I haven’t.” He shrugged. 

“What was it like?” you asked.

“What do you mean?”

You tipped your head back and grinned at him. “Well… were you nervous? Or clumsy?”

“I’m never clumsy.”

“But were you?”

He shrugged again. “I don’t think I was. She never complained about it.”

You giggled and entwined your hand with his atop of your belly. 

“What about you?” he asked.

“Well… I was part of my brothers’ dance squat in my teens, and Ilya had this friend that often came to watch when we practiced. I was fourteen and a little rebellious at that time. I knew Mama didn’t really like Mitchell and after I had gotten into a fight with her, I decided to do something that would utterly mortify her. So, one evening after our practice, I ambushed Mitchell on the street and kissed him,” you told him with a grin.

Heero chuckled. “I wonder what that must have looked like.”

“He was completely shocked. But he did kiss me back.” You giggled at the memory. “Unfortunately, Mikhail saw what happened.”

“And?” Heero asked.

“Well… All four of my brothers chased him around the neighborhood. I haven’t seen him since,” you said with a grin. “They’re a little protective of me.”

“A little? I got punched in the face!” 

“You did a lot more than just kiss me.” You gently patted your stomach. “Not that I’m complaining.”

He nuzzled your hair and tightened his arms around you. You smiled and snuggled closer. You felt blissfully safe and happy.

-x-x-x-

Two weeks later, Heero went on his mission to the L5 cluster with Wufei. Your stomach was in knots by the time he carried his duffel bag to the door of his apartment. You had spent the night at his place, snuggled up in his arms, but unable to sleep. You hated the thought of him leaving and possibly getting hurt. You swallowed back the lump in your throat when he turned towards you.

“Be careful,” you said softly.

He nodded and pulled you towards him. “Are you okay?”

“No.” You pressed your face against his shoulder, hiding the tears that threatened to fall. “It’s the hormones.”

“Hn.” His lips pressed against your forehead in a tender kiss. “Take care of yourself for me, alright?”

You sniffed and nodded before pulling back. He cupped your cheek and kissed you. You clung to him, one hand buried in his hair as he kissed you goodbye. A horn blared outside and Heero pulled back from the kiss. “That’s Wufei.”

“I know.” You refused to let go of him just yet. You pressed your face against his neck and breathed in his scent deeply. Heero’s hand tangled in your hair. 

“I’ll contact you as soon as I arrive for the file transfer,” he murmured in your hair.

You looked up at him and attempted a small smile. “Alright.”

He kissed you for the last time, before stepping back. He grabbed his bag and hoisted it over his shoulder. “I’ll see you next Monday.”

“Yeah…” you said. “Good luck out there.”

“Thanks.” He gave you a small smile, before opening the door.

“Heero?”

“Hn?” He gave you a look over his shoulder.

“I…” The words got stuck in your throat. You couldn’t say it yet. “Never mind.”

“Come here,” he said, while holding out his arm.

You rushed into his embrace and pressed your mouth against his for a final kiss. “I’m sorry,” you whispered when you pulled back. You wiped the tear that had escaped your control away. “I suck at saying goodbye.” 

He chuckled. The horn blared again. Heero shot an angry look outside. “I have to go.”

“Yeah.” You stepped back and smiled at him.

“Bye,” he said.

You watched him as he made his way to Wufei’s car. You closed the door after they had taken off and slumped against it with a miserable moan. A week without him. It was going to be hard. You slowly made your way into his bedroom and picked up the shirt he had worn the day before from the chair in the corner. It smelled like him. You smiled to yourself and folded it up before putting it in your bag. That shirt would be your sleeping attire for the rest of the week.

You glanced at the alarm on the nightstand and cursed. You were going to be late for work.

-x-x-x-

It was on Wednesday that Heero called you. You were at work, in the middle of reading over a file, when your phone rang.

You were quick to pick up. “Hello?”

“Hey.”

You smiled at the sound of his voice. It was good to hear it. He had called you on Monday for the file transfer, as new Preventer policies prevented agents from traveling with classified information on their laptops during missions. You never knew who would go through your stuff during checks at the space or airport. You knew that contact with him was only allowed if he needed any information. Tuesday had been dreadfully silent.

“It’s good to hear your voice again,” you said softly.

“How are you doing?” he asked, his voice warming slightly.

“Fine. We’re fine…” You smiled and patted your stomach. 

“Listen, we’ve located the base, but we don’t have any blueprints of it,” he said.

“I know. I couldn’t find any in the Preventer database,” you said, while pulling up the database on your computer. “You got a moment? I’m getting my headset.”

“Sure.”

You connected your headset to your phone, so you had both hands free for typing. “I can check again for you.”

“We’re not going in there without knowing the layout of the base,” Heero said. “We need a blueprint.”

“Yeah, I get that.” You frowned as your search got no results. “The database gives me nothing. Do you think there are still some old OZ databases I could get into?”

“Those are all classified. You couldn’t get in there if you tried,” Heero said. 

“Damn it.” You leaned back in your seat and glared at your computer screen. “Then I’m going to Une and get access to them.”

“Sure. Call me when you have it, okay?”

“Yeah…” You got up and grabbed your phone. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

You hung up and disconnected the headset, before setting course for Une’s office at the top of the building. She gazed up in surprise when you barged into her office.

“Agent -L/N-,” she said, while closing the report that she was reading. “Can I help you?”

“Yes. I just got a call from Heero. He needs a blueprint of the base, but I can’t find any in the database,” you said. “I need access to the old OZ databases.”

“I see.” Une crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Those are classified files, Agent -L/N-.”

“I know,” you admitted. “But I really need the blueprint. And any other useful information on that base.”

Une gave you a long look that almost made you squirm. “What is your rank, agent -L/N-?”

You swallowed. “I am a Second Lieutenant, Ma’am.”

Une nodded with a smile. “Very good. Then I will promote you to the rank of First Lieutenant. That shall give you access to the information you need.”

You stared at her, completely dumbfounded. “I… Thank you.”

“I will tell my assistant to change your rank in our records immediately. Tomorrow you can pick up your new badge and insignia.” Une gave you a good once over. “And I think you need a new pair of pants.”

You rested your hand on your slightly rounded belly for a moment and smiled. “That would be great. These are getting a bit tight.”

She chuckled. “I already thought so.”

“Thank you, Ma’am.” You turned and left her office, feeling extremely giddy. You just got the promotion you had been working for!

In your office you called Heero. “You’ll never guess what just happened.”

“Hmm?”

“I got promoted!” you said with and exited belt of laughter. “I should be able to get the blueprint in a few minutes.”

“Congratulations,” he said with a chuckle.

You grinned. “Thanks.”

“So… now you are?”

“A First Lieutenant.” 

Heero whistled through his teeth. “I have to watch out.”

“You betcha, Captain,” you said smugly. “I’ll outrank you in no time.”

He chuckled. “We’ll see about that.”

You grinned. “I’ll send you the blueprint as soon as I have it. Maybe I can dig up some more useful information from those databases.”

“Sure. We’ve talked to some locals yesterday. We managed to pry a name from one of them,” he said. “The name is Dan Parker.”

You quickly grabbed a notepad and pen. “I’ll check it out.”

“Thanks.” 

“You’re welcome.” You smiled, preparing to end the conversation. “Heero?”

“Yes?”

“I miss you,” you said softly. 

He fell silent. “I miss you too,” he said finally.

You swallowed back the lump that formed in your throat. “I gotta go.”

You ended the conversation and pressed your hands over your face for a moment. Damn it… it was hard to talk to him while he was so far away. You sighed and concentrated on your work again. It was time to dig into those OZ databases.

-x-x-x-

Monday afternoon, Heero and Wufei returned from their mission. Duo had gone to pick them up from the base in Leopoldsburg and had driven them to Preventer Headquarters so they could immediately report to Une about the mission.

The mission itself had been a great success. Heero and Wufei had invaded the secret base with a unit of local Preventers and had managed to arrest Dan Parker and his three associates. While their secret organization wasn’t big, it would have been a serious threat to the ESUN, due to the weaponry that they had been developing. 

You tried to keep your calm while Heero was in Une's office. You wanted to go and see him. Sam was pacing up and down your office, no doubt feeling the same way about seeing Wufei. The moment your phone rang, you both jumped.

You picked up. “Heero?”

“I’m in my office. Get over here,” was all he said, before hanging up.

You grinned and stuffed your phone in your pocket. “Let’s go and see them.”

You practically ran towards the elevators. You reached the floor on which Heero and Wufei’s offices were located and forced yourself to take a few calming breaths. You plastered a neutral expression on your face. If you came walking down the hallway with a sunny smile on your face, Sheila certainly would notice that something was up. But on the other hand, it was time that she learned Heero was taken. 

You passed her desk without sparing her a glance and rushed into Heero’s office, while Sam dove into Wufei’s. Heero was seated behind his desk, typing away on his computer. You closed the door behind you and smiled at him.

“Hey,” you said.

He looked up and stopped his typing. His expression warmed and he mentioned you over, pushing back his chair. He stood up and pulled you into his arms when you made your way around his desk. The next moment, his mouth descended on yours in a hungry kiss. You buried your hands in his hair, a quiet moan escaping you. It felt damn good to be in his arms again after a week of worrying about his safety. His scent washed over you, comforting you and soothing the remaining stress you felt. Your knees buckled when his tongue brushed against yours and his grip on you tightened. He pulled back from the kiss with a groan and buried his face in your hair. You clung to him and sighed in bliss.

“I’ve missed you,” you murmured against his shoulder.

“Hn…” His lips pressed against your temple in a tender kiss. “I’ve missed you as well.”

He grabbed your hands and lowered himself in his office chair again. He pulled you forward until you stood between his legs and wrapped his arms around your waist. He pressed his face against your stomach. You smiled and started running your fingers through his hair. He sighed, obviously content. 

You noticed the bruise on his temple and touched your fingers to it. “How did you get this?”

“I got in a fight with one of the suspects when I tried to arrest him,” he said. 

“Have you let someone take a look at it?” you asked.

“I’m fine.”

You rolled your eyes with a sigh. “Heero.”

He chuckled. “Really. I’m okay.”

His hand came to rub over your belly and butterflies exploded in your stomach at the tender gesture. 

“Definitely a baby bump there,” you said with a smile.

He looked up at you with a small smile. Your breath hitched at the intense look in his eyes. They gazed at you with so much tenderness. So much… You cupped his cheek, trailing your fingertips over his skin in a gentle caress. You brought them to his lips and traced their contours, a gasp escaping you when his tongue darted out to flick over your fingertips. 

“Let’s go home?” you asked him quietly.

“Don’t you have to work?”

You shook your head. “Une gave me the afternoon off.”

“How nice of her.” He smirked.

You bit your lip and giggled. “She is not as bad as I first thought.”

“Hn. Go get your stuff. I’ll meet you in the parking garage,” he said.

“I want another kiss first.” You were no longer shy about asking things of him.

He pulled you into his lap and pressed his mouth to yours. His hands slid over your back and you shivered. You pressed your hand against his chest, over his heart, feeling it beat rapidly against your fingertips. His kiss was demanding and bruised your lips, no doubt leaving them red and swollen. But you didn’t care about that. He was back. Safe. And he was all yours.

You broke away from his kiss with a gasp, inhaling some much needed oxygen into your lungs. “I’ll get my bag,” you managed after a while.

He grinned and leaned in to press a kiss against your neck. “Hurry.”

“Hmm…” You got up, still a little dazed. “Ten minutes tops.”

“Sure.”

You left his office, too happy to try and get the smile off your face. 

-x-x-x-

“Are you sure that you want to go?” Heero asked you for the third time. “You look tired.”

You turned your head and watched him with a small smile on your face. “If I get really tired, I can go and lie down. Alexi wouldn’t mind.”

He focused his attention on the road again. His hand left the steering wheel to rest on your thigh. You slipped your hand around his and smiled. You were on your way to Alexi’s apartment. He was hosting a small party. At least, he claimed it was small. Knowing him, his apartment would be packed with people, music mingling with voices, while drinks flowed. You had wanted to go and see your brother. Due to Heero and Wufei’s mission and the research you had to do, you hadn’t been able to go to the family weekend earlier.

You reached Alexi’s apartment building and Heero parked the car. You saw the worry in his eyes when he turned to look at you, once you stood in the elevator.

“Really.” You leaned in and kissed his jaw. “I’ll be fine. Relax. You might even enjoy yourself.”

He gave you a wry smile. “I’d enjoy myself a lot more if it were just the two of us.”

You grinned. “We can be alone all day tomorrow.”

You took his hand when the elevator doors opened and pulled him along with you towards Alexi’s apartment. The door was open and the party was already in full swing when you arrived.

“-Y/N-!” Alex bellowed once he caught sight of you.

He came over and pulled you into a hug. “Hi,” you greeted him with a laugh.

He kissed your cheeks before pulling back to look at you. “You look good.”

You smiled. “Thanks.”

Heero’s arm slipped around your shoulders, and Alex no doubt noticed the protective and even possessive gesture. He extended his hand towards Heero, who took it in a firm handshake. “Hey.”

You enjoyed yourself immensely and forgot about your fatigue. An hour after midnight, the party started to dwindle down and you busied yourself with pulling the trashcan trough the apartment, throwing empty bottles and cans away. Alexi and Heero were out on the balcony, talking.

You quietly hummed to yourself as you passed the open door.

“You seem pretty crazy about my sister,” you heard Alexi say.

You halted. Were they talking about you? You glanced through the window and saw Heero gaze at his beer bottle. 

“I’ve been crazy about her for years,” he said.

What? You forced yourself to pick up another empty can and tossed it in the trashcan. You could still hear them talking, but you knew that if you grew too silent they would notice that you were eavesdropping. You noticed that your hands trembled and forced yourself to take a calming breath.

“Really?” you heard Alexi ask.

“Hn.” Heero nodded.

“-Y/N- is very special,” Alexi said, sounding proud. “To all of us.”

“I know,” Heero said quietly. 

“When she came into our family… It was very hard for her. She missed her biological mother and she didn’t trust us.” Alexi sipped his beer. “She was afraid we might send her away again, and it took her years to learn how to trust us. I know she slept with a packed suitcase under her bed until she was ten.”

You resisted the urge to go out on the balcony and give Alexi a piece of your mind about revealing that. You hadn’t told Heero and you hadn’t been planning to. You picked up another bottle and threw it in the trashcan. You didn’t want Heero to think you had trust issues. Which wasn’t the case. You had long outgrown that silly fear.

“I know it wasn’t easy for you to win her over,” Alexi said with a chuckle.

“So you’ve heard,” Heero sounded amused. 

“News always travels within our family.” Alexi shrugged. 

“She was a bit stubborn. But she had a good reason for that,” Heero said quietly. “She’s pregnant. She can’t just jump into a relationship without being an hundred percent sure that it’s going to work out.”

“You can never be sure about such a thing.”

“No,” Heero agreed. “And I’m glad she gave me a chance.”

You smiled to yourself, feeling warm on the inside. Heero was such a wonderful guy.

“She cares a lot about you. I saw it in her eyes,” Alexi said. “She’s never good a hiding such things.”

Heero remained silent for a while before speaking again. “We should get going. She was tired earlier.”

“Yeah.”

You quickly picked up a couple of glasses and carried them to the kitchen.

“-Y/N-, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Alexi exclaimed when he noticed you had started tidying up his apartment. “Let me do that!”

You grinned at him, hoping to mask the fact that you had heard his and Heero’s conversation. “I was bored.”

Alex muttered something under his breath and grabbed your wrist. “Go home and sleep.”

“Alright.” You hugged him, so you could whisper in his ear. “I’m going to fry you.”

“We’ll see about that,” he whispered back, and smirked at you when you pulled back.

You grabbed your jacket and put it on, before taking Heero’s hand. “Sleep well.”

“You too,” Alex said.

You left his apartment with a smile on your face and your stomach in knots. Heero was silent during the car ride home. You drove back, painstakingly keeping your attention on the road to avoid a conversation with him. What he had said had left you reeling. _I’ve been crazy about her for years._ The words played over and over in your mind.

You reached your house and parked the car. You turned towards Heero, feeling a need to say something. “Heero, are you alright?”

He grunted a reply.

“You’re awfully silent,” you said softly.

“I’m tired,” was all he said. “Let’s go in.”

“Yeah…”

You got out of the car and searched through your purse for your keys. You opened the door and kicked off your shoes once you were inside. Heero took your keys and locked the door. You watched his movements with a small smile on your face. 

He threw your keys onto the side table next to the door and gave you an amused look. “What are you smiling about?”

You shook your head. “Nothing. Let’s go to bed.”

“Hn.”

You made your way upstairs and into your bedroom. You grabbed your nightgown from the chair in the corner, changing in the bathroom and brushing your teeth. Butterflies exploded in your stomach as you recalled what Heero had said to your brother. It made you feel giddy. Happy. Heero came into the bathroom and opened the cabinet above the sink to grab his toothbrush. You didn’t meet his eyes, afraid you might give away that you had eavesdropped on his and Alexi’s conversation. You quickly rinsed your mouth and left the bathroom. You got under the sheets and buried your face in your pillow with a silly grin. You felt like a giddy teenager. 

It didn’t take long for Heero to join you under the sheets. You were quick to drape your upper body over his and kiss him. If he was surprised by you sudden actions, he didn’t show it. His fingers tangled in your hair as he kissed you back. You giggled into the kiss and he pulled back to give you a strange look. 

“Are you feeling alright?” he asked dryly.

“Yes.” You buried your face in his shoulder to muffle your laughter. “Just happy.”

He turned his head to nuzzle your hair. He wrapped you up in his arms and held you. “Well then… I’m glad.”

“Hmm…” You snuggled into the crook of his arm, enjoying the warmth over his body.

You lay like that for minutes, maybe even hours. His breathing deepened, indicating that he had fallen asleep, but you couldn’t. You were wide awake and thinking about what he had said to Alex. It made you feel secure to know that he had been interested in you for a longer time than you had initially thought. Because you needed him. You couldn’t be without him anymore. He had become a constant factor in your life, he was always there. You… you loved him. The realization made you shudder. You loved Heero. Really loved him. Like your mother loved your father, like Mikhail loved Denise. It was the kind of love that would never diminish; the kind that only grew stronger. 

You had tried to tell him before. Like that time when he had left to go on his mission. But you hadn’t been able to say it yet. And you knew he had understood. Everything had been so wonderful after he had come back. You had actually been thinking of making love with him. You had been thinking about giving yourself to him in every way that you could. You’d tell him in the morning, you decided. 

A feeling of calm settled over you and you snuggled closer to him. In his sleep, he tightened his grip on you and you smiled. It would all be alright…

-x-x-x-

The next morning, you woke up with a start. The sun was already pouring into the room and you blinked, confused. How long had you slept? You turned over towards Heero, only to discover that his side of the bed was empty. You sat up and looked around the room. His clothes were gone. You got up and went into the bathroom. He wasn’t there, but the shower had been used. You heard noises downstairs and smiled. Judging by the sounds, he was scolding Mister Foofykins. Your cat had a tendency to plunge his nails into Heero’s legs the moment he walked past. 

You grabbed your robe from your bedroom and went to take a quick shower. Afterwards, you combed your hair and brushed your teeth, before venturing downstairs. You walked through the living room and found Heero in the kitchen, preparing coffee, still muttering to himself.

“Did Mister Foofykins pester you again?” you asked him with a laugh.

He scowled and grabbed a mug from the cupboard. “Why are you laughing about that?”

You stifled a giggle. “Because it’s funny.”

His scowl deepened and you went to kiss it away. His hands slid around your waist, pulling you closer towards him. When you pulled back the scowl had disappeared. You touched your fingers to his cheek. 

“Much better,” you murmured with a grin.

“Hn…”

“We should go and do something fun today,” you said, while wrapping your arms around his neck. 

“Like what?” he asked.

“I don’t know. You think of something.”

He buried his face in your neck. “Let’s be lazy in the garden.”

You shivered as his breath ghosted over your skin. “Hmm… But I want to go out for dinner tonight.”

“Sure.” His lips caressed over the skin of your neck, up to your ear. He nipped your earlobe before pulling back.

You cupped his cheek and felt heat spread across your face as you prepared to say it. “I…”

“Hmm?”

“I love you, Heero,” you whispered.

His eyes widened in surprise. You bit your lip with a smile, enjoying the look of pleasant surprise on his face. 

“You do?” he asked, after he had found his voice.

You nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry it took me so long to-”

“No.” He pressed his finger against your lips, effectively silencing you. “Don’t apologize.”

You stared at him, saw the warmth his eyes. The Prussian blue pools practically burned with emotion, so strong, so warm it enveloped you. He pressed his mouth against yours, kissing you with the desperation of a starving man. You were quick to respond, your hands sliding into his hair, taking greedy handfuls of the thick brown locks. His tongue seduced yours, while his hands slid over your back, to your hips and up again to tangle in your hair. You gasped for breath when he pulled away to press his face into your hair. You clung to him and breathed in his scent.

“I love you,” he murmured in your hair, his voice husky. “You have no idea how much.”

You tightened your hold on him, a warm smile on your face. Happiness warmed your heart. Heero pulled back to look at you with a small smile. You cupped his cheek and your pulse jumped when he turned his head to press a kiss against the palm of your hand. He pressed his hand against your stomach, his fingers splaying wide.

You blinked at the sudden happy tears. Heero’s smile disappeared and he pulled you closer, tucking your head under his chin. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m really happy and these hormones turn me into a crybaby.”

He chuckled and kissed your forehead.

You stayed in his embrace for a long time, overcome with the giddy feeling of happiness. You loved him. And he loved you in return. A sudden jab in your belly made you jump.

“What’s the matter?” Heero asked.

“The baby! It just kicked.” You rested your hand against the rounded bump and grinned.

“Really?” Heero’s hand came to rest on your stomach as well and you waited in hope to feel it move again. A grin broke out on his face when the baby kicked again. 

You giggled and kissed him once more. Everything was damn wonderful right now. Perfect. Nothing could take your happiness away. You smiled up at the man you loved and couldn’t help but wonder if your child would have such beautiful blue eyes as well…

**\- End part 5 -**


	6. Part 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna post this yesterday, and then my Ipad keyboard died. LOL.  
> But, it’s here and I’m glad to finish another story on here!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing, its characters, or you.

**Every Moment  
Part 6**

_Preventer Headquarters, Brussels, AC 203_

You looked up when Sam entered your office. “Hey!”

“Hey,” she greeted you. She sat down in the chair in front of your desk and grinned. “We’re going shopping.”

“For what?” you asked, while saving the file you had been working on. You leaned back in your chair and crossed your arms in front of you.

“The fundraiser,” Sam said, while inspecting her nails. “You didn’t forget it’s this Friday, right?”

“No,” you said. “I wouldn’t even dare forgetting about it. Michelle would fry me.”

Sam giggled. “She sure would. But I need a new dress. And you do too. I doubt you’ll fit in your old clothes.”

You rested your hand on top of your belly and smiled. “That’s true.”

“Alright. Let’s go today after work. I get off a two. You?”

“Same.”

“Great!” Her eyes practically lit up with excitement. Sam really loved shopping. “I’ll meet you downstairs okay?”

“Sure.” You grabbed your phone from your desk and started pushing buttons while she left your office. “Is Michelle coming along?”

“No. She is too busy with the final arrangements,” Sam said from the doorway.

“Poor her.” You grinned. 

Sam shrugged and grinned back. “She’ll get over it.”

You laughed and started texting Heero, to let him know you would go shopping after work. He’d go to the gym after work, but you knew for certain he would show up at your house afterwards. He always did. You put your phone down after sending the text, only to pick it up again when it rang. You checked the caller’s ID. Heero.

You smiled and answered. “Hey.”

“What time will you be back?” he asked you.

“I don’t know,” you said with a grin. “You shouldn’t ask. I always lose track of time when I go shopping.”

“I see.”

“I could come over to your place when I finish.”

“No, just call me. I’ll come over to you,” he said. 

“I’ll try to be in time for dinner,” you promised. “Oh, and by the way… What will you be wearing to the fundraiser?”

“A tux,” he said.

You swallowed. Heero in a tux… Just the thought of him in a tux had your hormones sky rocketing. 

“Is it black?” you managed.

You could imagine him smirking, and heard it too in his voice when he spoke. “Of course it is.”

“Great. I’ll keep that in mind,” you said. “I’ll call you when I get back, okay?”

“Sure.”

You hung up and pressed your hands over your face with a groan. Heero in a tux. It was going to be the death of you…

-x-x-x-

“No store sells anything sexy for pregnant women,” you complained, as you stepped outside of the umpteenth store. “This sucks!”

“You’re pregnant. Why do you want to look sexy?” Sam asked you with a laugh.

You scowled at her, with a blush staining your cheeks. “Can’t you guess?”

“Are you planning to seduce Heero?”

“Sortha…” you mumbled. 

“During the fundraiser?”

“After! Duh!” You gave her a mock glare. “I’m not gonna do it with him at HQ! There’s nothing romantic about that!”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Sam said with a saucy grin. “It can be very… adventurous.” 

“You sound like you tried it yourself.”

She blushed scarlet and you gaped at her in horror. “Eeeew! Where?”

“In one of the shower stalls at the gym,” she admitted after a while. “We were sparring and…” she fell silent.

“And you jumped him. Right…” You giggled and hooked your arm through hers. “I’m glad you’re happy with Wufei, you know.”

She smiled dreamily. “Thanks. And I’m happy that you and Heero worked out after all.”

You bit your lip to contain your smile. “I’m so crazy about him… It’s kinda hard to imagine that a little over four months ago, I sat in the Starbucks with you and Michelle, complaining about having to go on a mission with him.”

Sam chuckled at the memory. “My, my, we were horrible, talking about him like that.”

“We were…” you said with a grin. “But it was fun, no?”

“Yes.” She pulled you to a halt in front of a maternity store. “Maybe you should check this one out.”

Your grin was replaced with a frown. “You know… I often really don’t like the stuff that they sell.”

“You should check it out anyway.” She pulled you into the store. “Maybe they’ll have some hidden treasures.”

“Right…” You tried not scowl as you were bombarded with the cheerful colors in the store. You wanted something sexy, not something that screamed _Look! I’m pregnant!_

Sam halted in front of a rack with cocktail dresses and grinned at you. “See if there is something you like in it.”

“Sam, I really don’t think-” You stopped speaking when she pulled a black dress from the rack. “Give me that!” She chuckled and handed you the dress. It was covered in lace and so damn… beautiful. “I’m going to try this one on!”

You hurried towards the fitting rooms, after checking if the dress was the right size. You quickly changed into the dress and called for Sam to come and zip you up. She pulled the curtain aside and gasped. “It’s perfect!”

“It is…” You splayed your hands over your belly and turned sideways, after she had zipped the dress up. The slightly rounded baby bump was accentuated by the dress, but not in the way that you didn’t like. And you still felt sexy in it. “I’m taking it.”

“Great!” Sam beamed. 

You changed back into your clothes, and took the dress to the cash register to pay. 

“So… when are you going shopping for the baby?” Sam asked you while you were in line.

You shrugged. “I don’t know yet. Heero is making plans to turn one of the rooms in my house into a nursery.”

“Aw…” Sam giggled. “That’s so cute!”

“Yeah,” you said while grinning at her. 

You quickly paid for the dress and went home afterwards. Sam dropped you off in front of your house and you made your way to the front door with a grin on your face. You couldn’t wait until Friday to wear the dress! It was so beautiful!

You halted when you caught sight of Heero’s car. Was he here already? You blinked. He wasn’t inside his car. You continued your way to the front door and quietly opened it. You stepped inside and found your spare key on the table by the door. So he had found it… _Hmm…_

You hid your shopping bags in the hallway closet and took off your jacket. You kicked off your shoes and quietly tiptoed towards the living room. The sight that greeted you made you stop dead in your tracks. You leaned against the doorpost with a warm smile on your face. Oh gosh, this was so adorable…

Heero was stretched out on the couch, one of his arms folded behind his head. His deep and regular breathing told you he was fast asleep. You had learned that when he wasn’t on a mission, he would allow himself to sleep deeply. Especially if he was in an environment that he deemed safe. Like now, here in your living room. Mister Foofykins had made himself comfortable on Heero’s stomach, and one of Heero’s hands was resting on top of the cat’s back, his fingers buried in shiny black fur.

You pushed away from the doorpost and quietly made your way over to the couch. You knelt down next to it and watched Heero sleep for a while. His features were relaxed and you sighed dreamily as you studied his handsome face. His hair fell over his forehead in such a way it made your fingers tingle with a need to touch it. You reached out and carefully smoothed the thick brown locks away from his forehead. You rose onto your knees, and pressed you lips against his temple. He stirred and made a sleepy noise in the back of his throat. You were quick to slant your mouth over his, enjoying the thought of kissing him awake. Heero’s lips parted beneath yours almost lazily, a sign that he was not yet fully awake. You cupped his cheek and ran your tongue over his bottom lip, before delving past his lips to taste.

His hand came up to tangle in your hair, but he didn’t make any move to take over the kiss. Utterly delighted, you explored his mouth, before slowly pulling back. You smiled and watched as he struggled to open his heavy eyes.

“Hey,” he mumbled.

“Hi,” you murmured back. “I thought you would wait until I called you.”

“I know,” he murmured, obviously still sleepy.

You smiled and kissed his cheek. “Hmm?”

“I met your brother at the gym and he told me where you kept your spare key.”

“Alex?” 

“Hn.”

“I see.” You found him utterly adorable like this.

“I thought I’d wait for you here,” he said, while turning his head to nuzzle your cheek. “I fell asleep.”

“Obviously.”

You felt his lips twitch against your cheek. “Come and lie down with me.”

“Mister Foofykins isn’t going to like that.”

“I don’t care.”

You giggled and got up, carefully lifting your cat from Heero’s stomach. The cat meowed, clearly disgruntled and set direction for the armchair in the corner when you put him down on the ground. Heero took your hands and pulled you towards him. You settled down on top of him, carefully avoiding putting pressure on your stomach.

“I bought a dress,” you told him, as you rested your head against his shoulder.

“And?”

“It’s very nice,” you said. “But I’m not going to say more. You’ll see for yourself on Friday.”

A chuckle escaped him. “I see.”

You smiled and closed your eyes. You were a little tired. A nap would do you good. You snuggled more into him and sighed contently when he tightened his arms around you. You were asleep within minutes.

-x-x-x-

Friday afternoon came quickly. You, Sam, and Michelle had agreed to get ready together at Sam’s place. So you packed your dress, shoes, and toiletries and took them with you to work. The cafeteria had been closed for the decorating and Michelle was busy all day with the final arrangements. You rounded up your report on a colony in the L3 cluster, and then went to Sam’s office.

“I’m done, and you?” you asked her.

“Almost,” Sam said, while still furiously typing away behind her computer. It was obvious she was eager to finish up as well. “Michelle just called me and said she would come later. Something came up with the catering.”

“Nothing serious, I hope,” you said, while leaning against the door post. 

“No, I think she’ll manage.” Sam gave you a fleeting smile. “Go get your stuff. I’m done.”

“Sure.” You grinned at her, and went back into your office to gather your stuff.

You met Sam in the hallway and together you made your way into the elevator. When the doors opened, you came face to face with Sheila. Her eyes narrowed as she stepped back to let you into the elevator. You ignored her and turned your back towards her once you were inside.

“Do you have any idea about what Michelle is going to wear?” you asked Sam as the elevator began its descent. 

“Yeah… she has this red cocktail dress,” Sam said with a grin. “She said it was a killer.”

You grinned back at her. “Correction. My dress is going to be a killer.”

Sam laughed. “It sure will be.”

The elevator doors opened at the parking garage level, and you and Sam made your way towards her car. Once seated, Sam spoke up. “Damn, I thought she was going to kill us with her eyes.”

You chuckled. “She no longer bothers me. And after tonight, she will definitely know that Heero is off limits.”

Sam grinned at that thought. “I’d love to see the look on her face.”

“That reminds me, Relena Darlian is going to be there as well,” you said with a frown forming on your face.

“Oh God. Don’t tell me she doesn’t know about you and Heero yet,” Sam said with wide eyes.

You shrugged. “Heero said he would tell her.”

“But you don’t know if he has already done so?” Sam asked.

You shook your head. “But I think he already did. I mean… it would be really weird if she discovered tonight that Heero and I are together, and that we are expecting a baby.”

Sam started her car and drove out of the parking garage. “But on the other hand, it would completely crush all her hopes of her and Heero getting together.”

“I think seeing this baby bump is enough to crush her hopes,” you said. “You know… I don’t care if Sheila gets hurt. But I would feel really bad in case Relena doesn’t know and gets hurt in the process.”

“I get what you mean,” Sam said. “Sheila is a bitch. Relena is quite nice.”

“Yeah…” you said quietly, while absentmindedly patting your stomach. 

Sam noticed the gesture and gave you a comforting smile. “It will be alright, -Y/N-.” 

You gave her a smile and nodded. “Yeah. You’re right.”

You reached Sam’s apartment, and she told you to go and take a shower, while she prepared tea. When you came downstairs, clad in your robe, Michelle already had arrived.

“Oh good, you’re done! I’ll go and shower now,” Sam said, while making her way to the hallway.

“All the last minute details have been taken care of?” you asked Michelle.

She nodded and sipped her tea. “It’s going to be one hell of a party!”

You grinned and sat down opposite her. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve made of it. What’s gonna be served for dinner?”

“I’m not telling!” she said with a grin. 

You pouted. “You’re no fun!”

“Well, you refused to tell me about your dress, so I think we’re even.”

You grinned wickedly. “It’s so gonna surpass yours!”

“We’ll see about that.”

It took a while before, Sam came downstairs again. “Shower is yours, Michelle.”

Michelle finished her tea and got up. “Alright.”

“Shall we start getting ready?” you asked Sam, while getting up as well.

“Sure,” she said.

The three of you went upstairs, and while Michelle showered, you carefully unpacked your dress. You smiled as you laid it out on the bed. “What should I do with my hair?”

“Leave it down,” Sam said. “I could curl it for you.”

“I’d like that.” You unpacked your pair of black Louboutins and set them down at the foot of the bed.

“Come on, sit down.” Sam mentioned you over. “You can put the dress on after I’ve dried your hair.”

You sat down on the stool in front of her vanity and she went to work. Michelle came out of the bathroom, and after some mooning over your dress, she came over to the vanity. Sam turned off the blow dryer and grinned at you in the mirror. “Alright. Put that dress on.”

You got up and untied your robe, while making your way to the bed. When you dropped the robe, Michelle gaped at you in shock.

“You’re wearing sexing underwear!” she exclaimed.

You grinned at her. “That’s the idea.”

“She’s gonna seduce Heero,” Sam said with a laugh.

Michelle gaped at you. “Not during my fundraiser!”

“Of course not. Afterwards!” you said with a grin. You put on the dress and Sam zipped you up.

“Well…” Michelle muttered. “That’s a relief.”

“Show me your dress,” you told her.

She went and unpacked a red strapless dress. You whistled through your teeth. “There’s no way Duo is going to get around that.”

“I’m not wearing it for Duo!” she snapped.

You and Sam shared a knowing look. “Sure you’re not,” you said with a chuckle.

Michelle grinned. “Whatever.”

-x-x-x-

Two hours later you were ready to go. Sam had done something wonderful with your hair, and now it fell in beautiful curls over your shoulders. You fidgeted with your purse as you waited for the men to come and pick you up. You were a bit nervous. Would Heero like your dress? Sam smiled at you and rested a hand on your shoulder. 

“Relax,” she told you as you peered out of the window. 

“Yeah…” you muttered. 

Your face brightened when you saw a limousine driving down the street, coming to a stop in front of Sam’s condo. 

“Oh God, they have a limo!” you exclaimed with excitement clear in your voice.

“Really?” Michelle popped up beside you and pressed her nose against the glass. “That’s so awesome! Oh my…” 

She fell silent as Duo got out of the car, and her cheeks tinted pink with a blush.

“Michelle!” you teased her. “Are you blushing?”

She shot you a dirty look and you laughed as you stepped away from the window. You made your way over to the hallway, where Sam was opening the door. Wufei was standing in the door opening, his hand raised, ready to press the door bell. 

“Woman, why can’t you always be this fast?” he asked her.

Sam gave him a sultry smile, and the stern look on Wufei’s face softened.

“They’re disgusting to watch,” Michelle whispered in your ear. “She looks like she wants to tear his clothes off.”

You choked and pressed your hand over your mouth to muffle your laughter. Then Heero stepped around Wufei and your laughter died. Your eyes widened in admiration as you took in his appearance. He looked damned gorgeous in a tux. The suit’s lines emphasized the width of his shoulders and nipped at his waist, and you felt your mouth run dry. You swallowed as his eyes darkened as he took in the way you looked. He made his way over to you, and the way he moved reminded you of a predator. 

“Hey,” you breathed once he reached you.

His hands found your hips and he pulled you closer, and he pressed his lips against yours in a demanding kiss. You firmly reminded yourself that your friends were watching, so you did your best not to give in to the wave of desire that threatened to overflow you. You smiled at him when you broke the kiss. He pulled you closer so he could whisper in your ear.

“What were you thinking wearing this?” he asked you quietly. “Are you trying to kill me?”

You gave him a coy smile. “I take it you like it then?”

“You look beautiful,” he murmured.

A warm smile spread on your face, and you slipped your hand in his. “You look great too.”

He chuckled and pulled back. “We should go.”

He took you outside, where Michelle was hugging Duo, while squealing how awesome the limousine was. Apparently it had been his idea to rent one. And he didn’t seem to mind one bit that Michelle was glomping him. You grinned at the sight of them.

It was going to be one fun night!

-x-x-x-

The cafeteria was unrecognizable. The movable walls between the cafeteria and several meeting rooms had been pushed back, creating one big area in which the fundraiser would take place. Along the walls, tables were set up at which you had an amazing dinner, while the middle of the grand space was open. There was a stage set up in the middle of it, but you suspected that it would be removed later that night. In the back of the room, you could see Michelle’s cousin preparing in the DJ booth. 

Preventers was a young organization, with young people to guard the still young peace. None would object to a good party. Politicians and Headquarter based preventers would be attending the fundraiser, as well as people that were important to the ESUN economy. Which meant Quatre had to be somewhere as well. Security was taken care of by agents from local offices all over Europe. 

Heero, you, Sam and Wufei, and Duo and Michelle were seated at the same table, and you had a great time. Michelle had outdone herself with the arrangements and as everything was perfectly on schedule, she did have some time to relax during dinner before having to dash off to check on the last details for Commander Une’s speech. 

When Une took the stage, presenting the new projects that Preventer would be focusing on the upcoming year, Heero took your hand in his. You gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand. Something in his eyes warmed, and you swallowed as you recognized it as desire. 

“Stop looking at me like that,” you hissed, before turning your attention back to Une, who was currently presenting a new project for a colony in the L4 cluster.

“Like what?” he asked.

“You know what,” you deadpanned.

“I don’t.” He sounded convincing, but you didn’t buy it.

You rolled your eyes and glared at him. “Like you wanna eat me.”

He grinned at you and leaned in, so he could whisper in your ear. “I might.”

“What?” you squeaked.

He smirked and leaned back in his seat, leaving you to ponder over his words. You narrowed your eyes at him before focusing on Une again. She was presenting the final project, a Preventer training base in the L1 colony cluster. You’d get some form of revenge, you thought with satisfaction. After all… he hadn’t seen all of your dance moves yet. You grinned inwardly and relaxed in your seat.

Une rounded up her presentation and left the stage during a round of applause, making room for Relena Darlian, who started a speech on Preventer’s contribution to the peace between Earth and the colonies. You cocked your head to the side as you watched her. You had to admit she looked very elegant in her pale green evening gown. Very aristocratic and not at all like you. You swallowed and glanced down at your dress. Maybe-

“Stop comparing yourself to her,” Heero whispered in your ear. 

You exhaled the breath you didn’t know you had been holding, and turned your head to look at him. “I’m not.”

“Yeah right.” He squeezed your hand and gave you a small smile. “She’ll never be like you.”

Your heart skipped a beat at his words and you felt your cheeks heat up with a blush. You weren’t quite used to him paying you compliments yet. It was still so new, so thrilling to hear him say things like that. You swallowed and gave him a small smile. He raised your entwined hands to his mouth and pressed a kiss against your fingers. Your eyes widened in surprise. He was showing you affection, while in the midst of his colleagues! Your colleagues as well, you reminded yourself. But sooner or later everyone would know that you and Heero were together. You forced yourself to relax and leaned in to rest your forehead against his. 

“Thank you,” you whispered.

He moved so he could kiss your forehead. “You’re welcome.”

You muffled your chuckle behind your hand and gave him a warm and intimate look. God, you couldn’t wait to get home. Desire stirred and you quickly turned your attention back to Relena, only to find her watching you as she delivered her speech. _Oh God…_ But she didn’t show any form of surprise at your and Heero’s actions. Which could only mean that she knew. Heero had told her. Good. You breathed a sigh of relief. You could fully enjoy your evening without worrying.

After the speeches were made, you all left the table and mingled with colleagues and politicians for a while. You smiled with delight when you saw Quatre approaching the standing table your group had gathered around. Trowa was with him, as well as Relena, who was smiling widely and chatting with the tall ex-Gundam Pilot. 

Heero’s hand came to rest on the small of your back as he turned to greet his friends. The gesture was simple and possessive. _Mine._ Butterflies exploded in your stomach and a smile formed on your face. You couldn’t help it. 

“-Y/N-!” Quatre greeted you while pulling into a hug. “How are you?”

“I’m great!” you said, hugging him back. “How are you?”

“Fine.” He pulled back and smiled at you. “Let me look at you.”

You grinned. “Well…” You rested your hands on your belly and turned so he could see the bump clearly. “I’m growing…”

Quatre chuckled. “You look great.”

“Thanks.” You smiled when Heero wrapped his arm around your shoulders. 

Michelle’s cousin started playing music, and you watched as Michelle gave him a thumps up sign, before she made her way back to you. She grinned and grabbed your hand when she reached you. 

“We should go dancing,” she said.

“In a while,” you told her with a smile. “I don’t want to be the first one out there.”

She laughed. “People have started dancing already!”

You looked around and realized that she was right. Michelle’s cousin was a club DJ back on his home colony, and you guessed he knew what people liked. People were indeed already dancing. You recognized colleagues, and also socialites, and well known people that donated money to Preventer. It was easy to get lost in the crowd, you thought with a small smile. Colleagues might recognize you, but there were also a lot of HQ based Preventers that you still had to meet. 

After an half an hour of chatting with Quatre and Trowa, Sam grabbed your hand, and dragged you and Michelle off to the dance floor. You threw Heero a grin over your shoulder as you followed your friends into the mass of moving bodies. Music pounded, and you fell into the pulsing beat. Your hips moved to the rhythm, your movements graceful and with the practiced ease of a dancer. The smile on your face was one of pure joy. You loved dancing, loved the feeling of freedom it gave you. 

You could feel Heero’s eyes on you, across from his place at the standing table. His stare was hot on your back and you turned around to give him a smile. His eyes were liquid fire and you were acutely reminded of the night that had started it all, the night in the club. He had the same look in his eyes as back then. Once again, you realized that back then he had already wanted you. His words to Alexi echoed in your mind. _I’ve been crazy about her for years._

You wanted him to dance with you. You beckoned him with your eyes, your smile turning sultry, inviting him to come closer, to dance with you. But he only smirked and sipped his beer, firmly staying in place. He shifted his weight, leaning against the table for emphasis. He wasn’t going to move. You chuckled to yourself and turned your back towards him, putting a little more sway to the movement of your hips. 

Duo made his way over to you and grinned at you. “Wanna dance?”

“Wanna die?” you asked him, while making a gesture with your head in Heero’s direction.

Duo grinned at Heero and then pulled you closer. “If you want him to dance with you, you have to be more convincing.”

You laughed and pushed against his shoulders. “He’ll be here any-” you were cut off as a strong arm snaked around your waist and yanked you back into a hard chest. “..second now.” 

Heero’s scent washed over you, as he leaned in and pressed his mouth against your ear. “Mine,” he all but growled.

Duo shot you a grin, before turning towards Michelle. Satisfied with Heero’s proximity, you raised your arm and curled your hand around his neck, making sure he couldn’t pull away from you. You snuggled your ass into the cradle of his hips and continued dancing.

“What are you doing?” he asked you. His voice had turned husky, with a touch of… desperation? 

You grinned. “Dancing,” you answered innocently.

“You know that dancing is a bad idea,” he told you.

“That so?”

“We always end up doing things that have consequences.”

“I regret nothing,” you said, making him chuckle.

The beat of the music shifted, the beat slowing somewhat to allow a more sensual rhythm. You smiled when Heero matched your movements, his hands coming to rest on your hips. His face was buried in your hair, his breath teasing the skin of your neck in a hot caress. You shivered and leaned back into him, pressing closer, closer…

He spun you around, pulled you close and dipped you. You grinned when he pulled you up, and wrapped your arms around his neck. He rested his forehead against yours, his eyes heavy lidded and ablaze with lust. Your gazes clashed and held. You were unable to look away, and only shut your eyes when he lowered his mouth to yours. He was going to kiss you… You tilted your head back, offering… and he took. His hands cupped your cheeks as he kissed you deeply, his tongue exploring your mouth, tasting, driving you absolutely mad.

You pulled back with a gasp. “You’re right.”

He smirked and grabbed your hand, pulling you into the crowd and away from your friends. Exhilarated, you laughed and let him lead you. 

“Where are we going?” you shouted over the music.

He stopped and turned, pulling you flush against him for another kiss, this one just as hot and desperate as the last. “Home,” he said, when he pulled back.

“NO! No, no, no! No!” That were quite a few _no’s_. 

“We can’t leave!” you exclaimed with wide eyes. “Michelle would KILL us!”

“Well then, that changes things.” His smirk was wicked and dangerous. “My office or yours?”

“W-what?” Was he seriously asking you this? You blinked up at him, as your mind tried to process his suggestion. The image got stuck and you swallowed heavily. “Yours,” you said finally.

Oh yes, you would have sex on his desk. And if Sheila dared to sit on it again, you’d tell her exactly what you and Heero had done in his office. You could already imagine the look on her face. You grinned and squeezed Heero’s hand. “Well then?”

He tugged on your hand and resumed his way. He carefully avoided anyone familiar, and made sure that none saw when you slipped into the hallway that led to the elevators.

“We should take the stairs,” you told him breathlessly. “To the first floor.”

He grinned and pushed open the door to the staircase. “Better not risk that someone sees us.”

You ascended the stairs as fast as you dared in your high heels. Tension coiled in your stomach, anticipation, a longing that needed to be released. Heero pulled you into the hallway on the first floor and slammed the side of his fist against the button for the elevator. You slipped your arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. He backed you into the elevator when it arrived and you broke away from the kiss with a gasp as Heero pushed the button for the tenth floor. 

“Don’t these have cameras?” you asked him.

His mouth trailed along your neck. “Turned off.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do.” 

One of his hands slid down your hip and slipped under the hem of your dress. You gasped as he trailed his fingers over your thigh, and up. He hissed when he encountered the lace already soaked with your need. “You were planning this.”

“Not really,” you gasped. “I was planning to wait until after the party.”

Laughter rumbled in his chest. He found your mouth again, and you poured everything you had into the kiss. His fingers traced patterns on the skin of your inner thigh, and you almost wanted to beg him to stop teasing you. His erection was hard and heavy against your thigh, and you shivered with longing.

Heero broke the kiss when the elevator reached the tenth floor. He took your hand and led you out of the elevator. The hallway was dark, and you squinted as you tried to see where you were. 

Heero stuck his hand in his pocket and fished out a single key. You blinked at the sight of it and grinned, knowing he always kept his keys together on a ring. He must have taken it off. “You were planning this as well.”

He grinned and used the key to open the door to his office, and pulled you inside. He shut and locked the door, before turning towards you. Moonlight filtered through the window, casting the room in silvery light. Shadows played over his face as he moved closer to you, his hands coming up to cup your cheeks as he leaned in to kiss you. Your fingers curled into the fabric of his suit’s jacket, pulling him closer. His hands slipped down, trailing along your neck, the sides of your breasts, and finally coming to rest on your hips. You pushed his suit jacket over his shoulders, and he momentarily let go of you to shrug out of it. You blinked when your hands came in contact with a holster. 

You pulled back from the kiss to look at him. “Why are you carrying a gun?”

He shrugged. “Better safe than sorry.”

“Right.” You tugged on the band around his shoulder, indicating that you wanted the holster gone. 

He took it off and dropped it on the ground. He pulled you closer for a kiss and lifted you up.

You wrapped your legs around his waist and broke the kiss when he lowered you onto the smooth surface of his desk. You stared up at him, took in his features, the look in his eyes, primal and full of desire. He leaned in for another deep kiss, his hands sliding over the front of your body. You arched your back, pressing yourself closer to him. This wasn’t the romantic sort of setting you had imagined, but right now you couldn’t care less. You could do romantic later, right now you just needed him.

You fumbled with his tie, pulling it off and then attacking the buttons on his shirt. You pressed your hands against his chest when you had it open, feeling his heart beating rapidly against your fingers. He broke the kiss and pulled you up in a sitting position, so he could unzip your dress. You shivered as his fingers trailed over the skin of your back, setting your skin on fire and sending tremors down your spine. He helped you out of the dress and dropped it on the ground next to the desk. His eyes darkened as he took in your appearance, saw the lace that temptingly covered your breasts. Possessiveness flashed in his eyes, but it turned to tenderness when he trailed his fingers over your rounded abdomen. You gave him a smile and leaned in for a short kiss, before laying back on the cool wooden surface of his desk, a banked spread out for him. Just for him. 

He stood between your legs, his hands on your hips, gazing down at you through his lashes with burning intensity. You reached for his hands and entwined your fingers with his, tugging him closer. He leaned in and pressed his face against your neck, his lips teasing your skin. Your eyes drifted shut in bliss, and you wrapped your arms around him, massaging his skin through the fabric still covering his back. His hands slid over your stomach, up to your breasts and cupped them through the lace. You gasped and turned your head so you could nip his earlobe. You raised one hand and fisted it in his hair, tugging gently on the dark brown locks. 

“Heero…” you whispered, your voice laced with need.

He shifted and trailed his mouth over your collarbone, down to your breasts. You reached for the button on his slacks, undoing it and pulling the zipper down, before pushing them down his hips. You slipped a finger underneath the waistband of his boxers, and waited for his reaction. It came with a shuddering breath, and a soul searing kiss. You had to fight not to drown into the kiss, and tugged his boxers down his hips. He broke away from your mouth and hissed when you took his erection into your hand, gently squeezing him. You guided him, and he got the hint, slipping his fingers under the lace of your thong and pushed it aside. He paused, positioned, and you bit your lip to keep yourself from moaning in frustration. 

You opened your eyes and gazed up at him as he reached out and rested his hand on your belly. You swallowed and entwined your fingers with his.

“You won’t hurt the baby,” you said softly.

He gave you a small smile. “I know.”

And then he slipped inside. You threw back your head, arching your back as pleasure shot through you. You knew this wasn’t going to last long, as your body was too tightly stung with tension. You tightly wrapped your legs around his waist and urged him deeper. His breathing was ragged with his inner fight for control, his grip on your hand almost painful. He brought your entwined hands up and pressed them against the desk beside your head. His other hand gripped your hip as he pulled back, trusted back in, setting a rhythm that send you spiraling off into ecstasy.

He wasn’t as rough with you as in Mexico. No, this time he fought to be gentle, tender even. Your breathing came in gasps, your breasts heaving with your effort to breathe. Behind your closed eyelids you saw stars. He leaned in, his mouth teasing along your neck and up to your ear. His tongue slid over the sensitive spot behind it and you shivered, your free hand coming up to grasp his bicep. It was quickly becoming too much, the tension steadily building in your body. It coiled in the center of your need, until it exploded. You threw back your head with a cry and arched up against him, shudders racking your body.

Heero squeezed your hand as he picked up the pace, seeking his own release. You slipped your free arm around his neck, holding him close as his body went rigid. He groaned against your throat as he buried himself deep inside you, spilling into you with a rush of heat. You shifted your hand into his hair, gently massaging his scalp. He sighed deeply and relaxed at your touch, causing you to smile.

You turned your head and pressed a kiss against his temple. “I love you.”

You felt his lips twitch against your skin. “I love you too,” he murmured hoarsely.

You sighed, completely content and happy. “Do you think they miss us downstairs?” you asked him.

He chuckled. “If they do, I don’t give a damn.”

You grinned and nuzzled his cheek. He propped himself up, leaning on his elbows and gazed down at you. His eyes glittered with satisfaction in the dim light, and you couldn’t help but reach out and cup his cheek. How lucky you were to have this wonderful man. A lump formed in your throat and you swallowed thickly. He leaned in for a tender kiss. You sighed in bliss and kissed him back, enjoying the sweet aftertaste of passion. 

He pulled back and straightened, slowly withdrawing from your body. He pulled you into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around you. You smiled and rested your head against his shoulder. 

“I should get freshened up,” you murmured. 

“Hn.” He kissed the top of your head. 

He pulled his pants up, fastening them, before stepping back. You got off the desk and retrieved your dress from the floor. You examined it and sighed in relief when you discovered it wasn’t wrinkled. You put it on and turned towards Heero, who paused buttoning up his shirt to look at you.

“Can you zip me up?” you asked him. 

He swept your hair over your shoulders and zipped up the dress. He pressed a kiss against the back of your neck, and you shivered. You turned around and smiled at him. He looked damned gorgeous, with his hair all mussed and his shirt half buttoned. You leaned in for a kiss, before stepping back. 

“I’ll be right back,” you said, while making your way to the door. 

You unlocked the door and opened it, quickly crossing the hallway to the ladies room. You turned on the light once inside, and made your way over to the sink. You examined the way you looked over the mirror and shook your head with a silly smile. People would notice. Your lips were kiss swollen, and your cheeks were flushed. Your hair, thankfully, didn’t seem to need much work. You quickly freshened up, fixed your hair and reapplied your lipstick, before leaving the bathroom, and found Heero locking up his office. He turned towards you and held out his hand. You smiled and took it, letting him lead you back to the elevators. 

You slipped back into the cafeteria, and Heero pulled you onto the dance floor, weaving through the crowd, until you were almost back to where you had left your friends. He pulled you into his arms and you grinned, moving with him to the beat of the music. If any of your friends found you, you could always say you had been here all the time, dancing. Smart, you decided. 

As if on cue, Duo popped up next to you, a cheeky grin on his face. “Now… where the hell have you two been?”

“Here,” Heero answered dryly.

“Yeah right.” Duo smirked.

You blushed and averted your face, deciding not to answer and let Heero deal with it. 

“Anyway, Michelle is looking for you,” Duo continued.

You looked up at Heero and gave him a questioning look. His lips twitched into a small smile, and he took your hand, tugging you along with him, as he followed Duo back to the standing table. 

Michelle immediately pulled you aside. “ **You!** Where were you?”

You grinned at her. “Dancing.”

“Like I would believe that,” she said with a sly grin. “I bet you were banging Yuy!”

“So what if I was?” you asked nonchalantly. “I didn’t leave the building.”

Michelle’s eyes widened comically. “You mean you did it here? Where?”

You grinned. “I’m not going to tell you.”

“What?!”

Sam joined you. “Where are you whispering about?”

“-Y/N- and Heero had sex! In this building,” Michelle hissed in Sam’s ear.

Sam grinned. “That so?”

You shrugged. “I’m not gonna deny it. Let’s go dance?”

“Sure.” Sam threw a glare in Wufei’s direction. “He doesn’t dance.”

You laughed. “Poor you. You could have expected that.”

Sam visibly ground her teeth in frustration. “I tried your tactic, but Duo didn’t seem willing to help me out.”

“Heh…” Michelle grinned with a blush staining her cheek. “My fault.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

The three of you made it back to the dance floor, and threw yourself into the music. You had a great time and soon were joined by Duo, who snatched Michelle around her waist and pulled her towards him. You smiled when you felt familiar strong arms wrap around your own waist. You leaned back into Heero and sighed as he nuzzled your cheek. 

“Having fun?” he asked you.

“Hmm…” You turned around and wrapped your arms around his neck, enjoying the feeling of his body pressed against yours. 

Heero pulled you closer and rested his cheek against your hair, as the music shifted into a latin beat. You smiled as he led you into a quick combination of steps, once more amazed by his skill. He really was a great dance partner.

“Do you know every dance routine?” you asked him, with amusement clear in your voice.

“I told you it was part of my training,” he said.

You giggled. “Wow… that must have been a thorough training then.”

He chuckled. “You can say that.”

You smiled to yourself and closed your eyes, knowing the dance by heart. His scent filled your nostrils with every breath you took, a mingling of cologne, man, and sex that made your heart beat faster. Your body hadn’t forgotten what had transpired not too long ago, and tingles ran up and down your spine. 

The next moment he yanked you behind him. You cried out in shock as a gunshot exploded through the air, closely followed by another, much closer to you than the first show. Heero’s gun. You whirled around to see what had happened, just in time to see Heero’s body convulse with the impact of the first bullet. Your eyes widened in shock and a scream tore from your throat. He fell back against you and you stumbled under the sudden weight, smacking against the floor. His gun clattered on the ground. You wrapped your arms around him as you managed to sit up, your face buried in his hair as chaos erupted around you. People screamed and ran from the room, others hid behind tables, while the agents on sight sprung into action.

“Heero! Oh God!” You frantically touched his torso, found the wound on the left side of his chest, close to his collarbone. Blood was steadily leaking from the wound, and you pressed trembling fingers to it to stop the flow. “Heero?”

He didn’t answer. You gasped for breath, and pulled one hand away from the wound to search for a pulse. “Baby, come on. Don’t die on me!”

Tears gathered in your eyes and you blinked rapidly to clear your vision. You felt a faint throbbing against your fingers and sighed in relief. He was alive. You sobbed and looked around you. Duo was dragging a screeching and bleeding Sheila off the floor. The look on his face was murderous, the look on hers total insanity. Your eyes widened as you saw a gun on the floor, close to her feet. Had she been the one to shoot Heero? 

Relena, her face as pale as a sheet, knelt down next to you and gently pried your hands away from Heero’s wound. She pressed the scarf she had used as a wrap against the wound. 

“He’s going to be okay,” she said, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself, as well as you.

“I-I… W-what-”

“Shh…” Relena soothed you. “He is strong.”

“I-I know…” you sobbed. 

Heero groaned.

“Heero?” both you and Relena asked.

His eyelids fluttered, then opened, and he blinked. “-Y/N-?” his voice was strained.

“I’m here. I’m okay,” you choked out. 

“I fell against you,” he said. “The baby…”

“Don’t worry about that now,” you told him, although fear squeezed around your heart. 

Wufei knelt down next to you with a first aid kit. “Let me take a look at that.”

“It’s bleeding pretty badly,” Relena said.

She pulled back the scarf and Wufei cursed. He took the scarf from Relena’s hands and pushed it back against the wound. Heero grunted and turned his head, burying his face in your neck. 

“You need to go to a hospital,” Wufei said. 

“Let Sally take a look at it,” Heero said.

“No.” Wufei’s tone of voice left no room for argument. “Sam! Call an ambulance.”

“It’s already on its way.” She knelt down next to you and rested a hand on your shoulder. 

You were glad for her support. “Did Sheila…?”

Sam nodded, her expression grim. “Yeah… But Heero shot the gun from her hand.”

More tears rolled over you cheeks. “She… she was aiming for me, wasn’t she?”

“Crazy bitch,” Wufei spat. “I should have fired her months ago.”

“You can’t blame yourself for this,” Sam told him. “But I’m wondering how she managed to get a gun. And even more about how she managed to get it in here.”

“She isn’t permitted to carry one,” Heero grunted out. “She…”

“Shh…” You pressed a kiss against his temple and swallowed when his breath hitched. 

He might try to hide it, but he was in serious pain. And the fact that the wound was bleeding like that, only made your worry grow. Duo came walking towards you, the look on his face still angry. Michelle joined him and hesitantly took his hand in hers. Duo’s shoulders relaxed and he spoke up once he reached you.

“Une is locking her in a cell,” he said. “She’s completely crazy.”

“She said anything?” Wufei asked.

“Something about Heero being hers. I tuned her out.” Duo’s eyes narrowed with anger. “She is in very deep shit.”

Heero’s lips moved against your neck and you focused your attention on what he was saying. “… saw her move and…”

“Heero,” you interrupted him gently. “It’s okay. Just try not to speak too much and save your strength.”

He grunted. 

You could hear sirens approaching outside and breathed a sigh of relief. The ambulance was coming. You tightened your hold on Heero and nuzzled his cheek, tuning out your friends who were discussing what had happened. His breathing was heavy, and when he brought up a hand to entwine it with yours, it was clammy and trembling. You took a deep breath to calm yourself, not willing to let him know how afraid you were. You couldn’t lose him. 

Paramedics came rushing into the room, carrying a stretcher. The group around you parted to let them through, leaving only you and Wufei with Heero. One of the paramedics took a look at Heero’s wound, while the other readied the stretcher. 

“When we move him, we have to make sure we don’t strain the wound,” the paramedic sitting next to you said. “We don’t want the bullet to move.”

“-Y/N-, I need you to let go of him,” Wufei said, his tone almost gentle. 

“I-I…” you swallowed.

“It’s okay, -Y/N-.” Relena knelt down next to you and rested her hand on your shoulder. “They’ll take good care of him.”

“I’m going with him,” you said.

“She needs an emergency ultrasound,” Heero ground out through clenched teeth. “I fell against her. She’s pregnant.”

The paramedic nodded. “I’ll contact the hospital while we’re on our way there.”

You pressed a kiss against Heero’s cheek, before carefully moving away from him, letting the paramedic support his body. You stood up on shaky legs and turned towards Sam. 

“Can you call Alexi for me? My purse is in the cloakroom with my coat,” you said.

She nodded. “Sure.”

You looked down at your dress and noticed it had become blood stained. “C-can you ask him to bring me some clean clothes?”

“Yes.” She reached out and squeezed your shoulder. “I will. We’ll be at the hospital soon, okay?”

You nodded. “Thank you.”

You turned towards the paramedics, who had Heero secured on the stretcher. You bit your lip when you met his gaze, saw the worry in his eyes. You made your way over to him and took his hand. 

“I’m going with you,” you told him.

He nodded and gave your hand a light squeeze, before letting go. You followed the paramedics to the ambulance waiting outside and got in after them. Fear squeezed around your heart as the ambulance took off in the direction of the hospital. What if Heero’s concern for the baby was correct? You rested your hand against the rounded bump and swallowed.

Heero saw and held out his hand. “What’s wrong?” he asked you.

You swallowed as you felt tears come up, as you slipped your hand in his. “I’m scared.”

“It’s going to be alright,” he said, then grunted as the paramedic put more pressure on his wound.

You took a deep breath, but the fear lodged in your throat didn’t diffuse. You sobbed and brought your free hand up to cover your mouth, only to realize it was stained with blood. Heero’s blood. You squeezed your eyes shut, fighting the panic rising up. You had to be strong for him. It wouldn’t do him any good if you had a panic attack while he was injured. Tears gathered in the corners of your eyes and streamed down your face.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered. 

“Shh…” His grip on your hand tightened. “Look at me.”

You slowly opened your eyes and blinked to clear your vision. The look he gave you was steady, and you were impressed with his ability to hide his pain. Love shone clearly in the blue depths, so strong it warmed you, reassured you. You sighed and attempted a watery smile. 

The ambulance reached the hospital and Heero was rushed into the ER. You followed the doctors, intending on sticking to Heero’s side. The doctor took one look at Heero’s wound and immediately ordered for him to be taken to an operating room. You tuned out the voices of the doctor and a couple of his assistants, as they discussed the procedure. After that they prepared to take him into the operation room. Heero held out his hand towards you and you stepped closer, taking it and bending over this press a kiss against his lips.

“I’ll do the emergency ultrasound while they’re operating you,” you promised him.

“Hn.” 

“I love you,” you said, your voice unsteady with your suppressed emotions.

He raised his hand to your face and gave you a small smile. “I love you too.”

You pressed one last kiss against his lips, and then stepped back. Your bottom lip trembled and tears pricked in your eyes as you watched them take him away. A nurse approached you. 

“Are you ready to do the emergency ultrasound?” she asked you.

You swallowed. You didn’t want to do the emergency ultrasound alone, but you had no choice. “I… Yes.”

The nurse mentioned you to follow her, and you hesitantly did so. 

“-Y/N-!” You whirled around at the sound of Relena’s voice.

“Relena?”

“Wufei let me out by the side entrance, to avoid the press,” she explained, once she reached you. “How is Heero?”

“They’re operating him. I have to do the emergency ultrasound now,” you said.

“Oh…” She seemed to consider your words. “Alone?”

You nodded. “Yes.”

She immediately took your arm. “I’ll go with you.”

You gave her a grateful look. “Thank you.”

She gave you a warm smile, and together you followed the nurse to a small room, where a doctor was waiting for you. Nervousness and fear settled in your stomach and you swallowed, feeling a little nauseous as you settled on the examination table. Relena settled in the chair next to the table, and grasped your hand in a firm, comforting hold.

“When did you have your last ultrasound?” the doctor asked, while typing away behind her computer.

“I had my first ten weeks ago. My second one is scheduled on Thursday,” you told her.

“Alright.” She gave you a small smile as she got up and approached you. “I will just be checking if the baby is okay, so you still have to go that appointment.”

You nodded. “Okay.”

“Can you lift up your dress, please?”

You swallowed, feeling a little uncomfortable about that. You shifted, and lifted your hips off the bed, tugging the dress up, and carefully keeping your legs pressed together. Your cheeks heated up as you exposed your belly, as well as the lacy underwear you were wearing. The doctor gave you no time to feel embarrassed, quickly spreading gel over your belly. She placed the transducer against your skin and kept her gaze firmly on the screen. You sighed in relief when you heard your baby’s heartbeat fill the small room. That was good, wasn’t it?

But the doctor’s face remained impassive and you bit your lip as you waited for her to say something. She moved the transducer around over your belly, and after what seemed like an eternity, gave a small smile. “Everything is alright.”

Tears gathered in your eyes and you sobbed. 

Relena squeezed your hand and you smiled at her. “See?” she said kindly. “Everything will be okay.”

You nodded and gratefully accepted the tissue the nurse handed you. You dried your tears and sighed. “I’m so glad the baby is okay. Heero was so worried.”

“You should go and get freshened up,” the doctor said as she wiped away the gel from your belly. “There is a bathroom on the other side of the hallway.”

You pulled your dress down. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She smiled at you.

You got up and left the room with Relena trailing after you. You went into the bathroom and sighed while gazing at your hands. They were still stained with Heero’s blood. Relena’s hands were no better.

“Do you know if Sam called my brother?” you asked her.

“She did.” Relena turned on the faucet and started washing her hands.

You followed her example and tried not to think too much about Heero being operated. You still feared for his life. The water tinted pink with blood as you rinsed your hands. You turned off the faucet and grabbed a couple of paper towels to dry your hands.

“You know…” Relena said suddenly. “I believe that you can make Heero happy.”

You met her gaze and saw the sadness in her eyes. “Relena…”

“No. I have to say this,” she said. “I always kept hope that maybe one day he would return my feelings, but… it has always been you, from the moment you came to work for the Preventers.”

You tried not to smile at her words. She was still having a hard time coping with the fact that Heero didn’t love her and you felt bad for her. 

“You’re everything he wanted in a woman,” she continued. “So I have accepted that. But if you hurt him…”

“I won’t,” you promised her. “Never.”

She nodded and took a deep breath. “Then it’s okay.”

You smiled at her and rested a hand on her shoulder. “I hope you’ll be able to find happiness someday.”

She gave you a small smile and nodded. “Thank you.”

“We should see if the others have arrived,” you said.

She nodded again and followed you out of the room. In the hallway you found the others waiting.

“-Y/N-!” Sam rushed towards you. “Is Heero alright?”

“They’re operating him. I’ve had my ultrasound and the baby is alright,” you told her.

“That’s good.” She gave you a smile and hugged you. “I called Alex. He’s on his way.”

“Friends of Heero Yuy?” 

You turned around to find a nurse standing behind you. “Yes?”

“If you follow me, I can show you the waiting room, where you can stay until Mister Yuy comes out of surgery,” the nurse said.

“Thank you.” You turned towards the others. “Let’s go.”

Duo wrapped his arm around your shoulders as you followed the nurse through various hallways. “He’s going to be alright, you know,” he said.

“I know.” You gave him a small smile.

You reached the waiting room, and while the others found places to sit, you couldn’t find the patience to do so. You paced up and down, restless, nervous. You whirled around when you heard a familiar voice snapping to a nurse in the hallway.

“Why can’t I go in there? She’s my sister!”

“Alexi?” You rushed out of the waiting room and found your brother glaring at a cowering young nurse. 

His expression softened once he caught sight of you, and he dropped the duffel bag he was holding on the ground. He held out his arms and you rushed forward into his embrace. It was like the enormity of what had happened finally hit you, and all your emotions, everything you had felt, the fear, the sadness, the shock, came to the surface. You sobbed and buried your face in Alexi’s shoulder, crying helplessly. He held you and murmured soothing words in your ear.

“It’s going to be alright,” he said gently.

“Everyone keeps saying that!” you wailed. 

He ran a hand through your hair and rubbed your back until you calmed down a bit.

“I’ve called Mama. She and Dad are on their way here,” he told you as you made your way back into the waiting room. “As are Luka, Mik, and Ilya.”

“What? Why?” you asked him, while giving him an incredulous stare.

“Because. Heero is family now,” Alexi said while squeezing your shoulder. “So we come here to support you.”

So your family accepted Heero completely. You felt a rush of love for your family and smiled at Alexi, before hugging him. “Thank you, Alex.”

He kissed your forehead. “You’re welcome.”

You took the duffel bag from him. “I’m going to change. I’ll be right back.”

You went into the adjoining bathroom and opened the duffel bag. Inside you found a pair of sweat pants, a T-shirt, and a sweater, as well as your favorite sneakers. Alex had also packed some clothes for Heero and you grabbed the grey zip hoodie that was on the bottom in the bag. It smelled like Heero, and you took comfort in the familiar scent as you pulled it on after you had changed. You left the bathroom and froze as you saw the doctor standing in the waiting room.

Alexi wrapped his arm around you as the doctor prepared to give you the news.

“We’ve successfully removed the bullet and a couple of bone splinters from Mister Yuy’s wound. He was very lucky, as the bullet didn’t hit any major blood vessels,” the doctor told you.

You sighed in relief and smiled. “That’s good.”

“He’ll be taken to a room on the first floor soon. We want to keep him here for a few days, just to make sure he won’t overexert himself. He won’t be able to fully use his arm until the stitches come out,” the doctor said. “A nurse will come to take you to his room.”

“Thank you,” you said. 

As the doctor left the room, Sally came rushing in. “And?”

“He’s okay,” you told her.

She visibly relaxed. “Sorry I got here so late. I had to take care of Sheila’s arm.”

You shrugged, not willing to talk about Sheila or what she had done. “They want to keep Heero here for a few days.”

Sally smiled knowingly. “He’s not going to like that.”

You smiled too. “I think so too.”

“I’ll see if I can arrange for him to be taken to your house tomorrow. I live pretty close to you, so I can keep an eye on him,” Sally said, while turning around and leaving the waiting room.

You turned towards Alex. “I’m so glad he’s okay.”

He smiled and pulled you closer, so he could kiss your forehead. “If he hadn’t turned out to be okay, I would have punched him again.”

You hit his shoulder, but you couldn’t stop yourself from giggling.

-x-x-x-

An hour later, you were allowed to visit Heero. You anxiously followed the nurse to a private room on the first floor, with your friends trailing after you. You didn’t really understand why they had given Heero a private room, but you suspected that Relena’s presence must have had something to do with it. 

You halted in the door opening as you caught sight of him. He was still asleep, his face ashen beneath his normal tan. You swallowed as you felt tears come up. You didn’t want to cry. He was alive, he was going to be okay, so you didn’t have to cry. But the tears still cascaded down your cheeks as you approached the bed. You reached out and pushed his hair back from his forehead, bending down to press a kiss against his skin.

“Wake up soon, please,” you pleaded with him quietly, even though he probably didn’t hear you. “I love you.”

You straightened and turned towards Alex, who came walking into the room as well. He wrapped you up in his brotherly embrace and you sighed deeply. “I’m sorry. I keep crying.”

He chuckled. “That’s okay. It’s only normal, after what happened.”

You swallowed, as the image of Heero taking the bullet that was meant for you, once more flitted through you mind. It had been doing that for the past hour, making you nauseous with the memory. You shivered and took a shuddering breath. 

“I keep seeing him taking the bullet,” you whispered.

Alexi’s eyes narrowed and he pulled you closer. “Shh… It’s all going to be okay, you know. She won’t be able to hurt you, or him, anymore.”

“I know…” You buried your face in his shoulder, glad for his presence and support. “I never thought she would go this far. I didn’t know she hated me this much.”

“She is crazy if she hates you,” he murmured. “None can hate you, -Y/N-.”

“Thanks, Alex.” 

He chuckled. “Any time.”

You smiled at him. “I’ll be okay.”

“Yeah… you’ll be.” He ruffled your hair. “I have to go and pick up Luka from the airport. Hopefully he didn’t bring that brainless bimbo with him.”

You muffled your laughter and sat down in the chair next to Heero’s bed as Alex left the room. 

Quatre came in and handed you a cup of tea. “I thought you might want this.”

“Thanks, Quat,” you told him, while wrapping your fingers around the cup. “Are the others still there?”

He nodded as he put down and empty cup and straw on the nightstand next to Heero’s bed and pulled over a chair from the corner. “Yeah… Duo and Michelle have gone back to HQ though. Michelle had to oversee the cafeteria being brought back to normal. They’ll be back as soon as she finishes up.”

“That’s alright.”

“Hmm… Sally has arranged for Heero to stay at your place.”

You breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I want him with me at home.”

Quatre gave you a warm smile. “You really love him, don’t you?”

Your cheeks heated up with a blush. “Yeah… I do. Very much so.”

His smile widened. “I’m glad.”

“But… you know, sometimes I feel bad,” you confessed quietly. “I know he has had feelings for me for a very long time… and it makes me feel happy and secure. But, I never considered him until we were assigned to that mission.”

“But you love him now and that’s all that matters.” Quatre reached out and squeezed your shoulder. “So you shouldn’t feel guilty. You can’t force love.”

You nodded. “You’re right.”

You continued to sit there in a companionable silence. You finished your tea and put the cup away. Heero still hadn’t woken up. You sighed and reached out, taking his hand in yours. You leaned forward, resting your forearms against the mattress. 

“Does it always take so long for someone to wake up?” you asked Quatre.

“You only think it takes long. Don’t worry. He should wake up soon,” he said. “You want some more tea?”

“No thanks.”

“I’m going to see if Michelle and Duo have come back. Will you be alright?”

“Yeah.” You gave him a smile.

Quatre left the room. You rested your head against your arms and sighed. You were tired, from all the stress and crying. Maybe some sleep would do you good. And it would kill the time. You shut your eyes and drifted off.

-x-x-x-

You woke when the hand around yours tightened. You struggled to surface, sleep making your mind hazy and your eyes heavy. You slowly sat up and winced when your neck protested from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position. You blinked the sleep from your eyes and turned your head to watch Heero. His eyelids were fluttering. You were wide awake the next instant.

“Heero?” You quickly got up and cupped his cheek. “Hey, wake up.”

He sighed and turned his face into your caress, his eyes slowly opening. You felt a lump form in your throat as his gaze focused on you. You blinked rapidly to keep your tears at bay.

“-Y/N-?” he croaked.

“Hey,” you murmured.

“Why are you crying?” he asked you, his voice hoarse and uncharacteristically weak.

“Because…” you said, while quickly wiping away the tears that escaped. “I’m happy you woke up.”

His lips twitched into a small smile. “Hn.”

“Do you want some water?” you asked him, remembering how thirsty you had felt, after you had woken up from an operation a few years ago.

He nodded and you quickly filled the empty cup Quatre had put on the nightstand. You took the straw and put it in the cup, holding it close to his lips. He sipped the water and gave you a grateful look. “Thanks.” 

“How are you feeling?” you asked him.

“Okay, I guess,” he said. 

You moved so you could sit down on the edge of the bed and took his hand in yours once more, pressing your entwined hands against your belly. “The baby is okay.”

His shoulders visibly relaxed, and relief washed over his face. “Really?”

“Uhuh.” You smiled at him. “I still have to come back for the appointment on Thursday.”

His hand around yours tightened. “Did you go alone?”

“No.” You shook your head and smiled. “Relena went with me.”

“She… she was okay with it?” he asked, obviously surprised at that bit of information.

“Yeah… she was.” You gently squeezed his hand, mindful of the IV embedded in his skin. “Sally has arranged for you to stay at my place. I’m not sure when they’ll release you though.”

He shrugged, then grunted as the movement jarred his wound. “We’ll see about that. Now kiss me.”

You smiled and leaned in to press a tender kiss against his lips. 

-x-x-x-

Two days later, Heero was released from the hospital and settled in at your place. He was pretty chagrined, because he couldn’t use his left arm, not until the stitches came out. Your house was completely invaded by your family, your parents taking up one guest room, and Mikhail taking up the other. Luka and Ilya were staying at Alex’s apartment, but they were getting ready to head home.

Your mother helped you with getting everything settled, and then went out for dinner with your father. You spent your evening in the bedroom with Heero, having dinner, talking, and finally settling in for the night. 

“I’m not going to stay in bed all day tomorrow,” he told you resolutely after you had turned off the light.

You cuddled up against his unwounded side under the sheets, resting your head on his shoulder. “This okay?” you asked him.

“Hn.” He tucked your head under his chin and kissed the top of your head. “It is.”

You smiled. “Good. And you can stay on the couch all day tomorrow.”

He muttered something that sounded like ‘bossy woman’ and you laughed. He was quite the terrible patient and did not like your fussing over him. 

“Really, Heero.” You propped yourself up on your elbows and grinned at him in the semi darkness of your room. “You shouldn’t try going all macho on me. You got shot and that’s serious, so you will take the time to heal or I’ll kick your ass.”

He blinked at you and then grinned. “You would?”

“Oh, Hell yeah!”

“A pregnant woman trying to kick my ass,” he mused with a smirk. “Now that would be entertaining.”

“You’re such a bully sometimes.” You scowled at him.

He pulled you down for a kiss and grinned. “Go to sleep.”

“Hmm…” You stole one more kiss before settling against him.

You woke in the middle of the night when Heero jerked. You groggily rolled onto your back and prepared to go back to sleep but Heero shot upright suddenly, and you quickly opened your eyes. His breathing was erratic and his body coated in a fine sheen of sweat that glistened in the moonlight that filtered through the window. You watched as he pulled his knees up and rested his forehead against them, taking deep breaths. In, out, in, out.

He had had a nightmare. You sat up as well and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Heero?”

He grunted.

“Are you okay?”

“A nightmare,” he said, his voice strangely thick. “I’ll be alright.”

His skin was burning hot against your fingers, so you quickly got up to get him a cool washcloth from the bathroom. He looked up when you sat down on the edge of the bed. You gave him a small smile, before starting to wipe away the sweat from his brow.

“What did you dream about?” you asked him quietly, while running the washcloth down his cheek.

He didn’t meet your gaze when he spoke, which told you he wasn’t comfortable with telling you. “I dreamed I wasn’t fast enough when Sheila aimed the gun at you.”

You froze and stared at him. He slowly met your eyes, and you saw the anguish in his gaze. It took you a moment to realize that he was completely open to you. He wasn’t hiding his feelings, not at all. He was completely vulnerable, and that was why he was uncomfortable. You reached out and cupped his cheek. 

“But you were on time,” you told him gently. “You saved me and the baby.”

“I know…” he murmured. 

Your gaze dropped to the bandage covering his wound and you frowned as you saw the blood stain on it. He had probably torn open his wound with his movements. “I’ll take a look at that.”

He looked at the bandage as well and sighed. “Hn.”

You quickly went back to the bathroom and retrieved some clean bandages from the medicine cabinet. You sat down on the edge of the bed again and turned on the lamp on the nightstand. You peeled off the bandage and cleaned the wound, closely studying it. “You tore one of the stitches.”

“Make an adhesive suture and leave it like that. Sally can take a look at it tomorrow,” he said.

You did as he told you to, and then wrapped the wound up again. You put away the stuff you had used and then took up the washcloth again, wiping the remaining moisture from his skin. His eyes slid shut when you trailed the wet cloth over his chest, carefully avoiding the bandage. You gazed up from what you were doing, noticing the change in his expression, from tense to relaxed.

You smiled. “Are you okay now?”

“Hmm…” He lowered himself back against the pillows and opened his eyes to gaze up at you. 

You froze as you caught the flash of desire in his gaze, and your breath left your lungs in a rush. He reached out with both hands, taking yours and making you drop the washcloth. It landed on the carpet next to the bed, but you didn’t even notice. You only had eyes for him. He pulled you closer, lining your body up against his. You gasped when he tugged your down for a kiss so tender, you felt it all the way down to your soul. You shifted, getting more comfortable against him, and took over the kiss, deepening it. But even as you explored his mouth, the kiss remained tender and unhurried.

A pleasured sigh escaped you when he broke the kiss to pay attention to your neck. His hands wandered over your back, gentle and warm, so warm… Your eyes drifted shut of their own accord, and you drowned in the sensations and emotions he evoked in you. His name left your lips on a trembling whisper as his hand found your breast, kneading gently through the material of your nightgown. 

You rose above him, straddling his hips, and met his gaze once more. His hand came up to cup your cheek, and you turned your face into his caress, pressing a kiss against the palm of his hand. You took hold of the hem of your nightgown, lifting it up and pulling it over your head.

In the back of your mind, a small voice told you that you shouldn’t be doing this, not with his wound. But it was obvious he wanted this, and you wanted this as well, needed it even. This was the tenderness and romance you longed for. You’d take it slow, and make sure he didn’t strain his wound any further. His left hand came to rest on your hip, while the other trailed down, along your neck, to your breasts and over your stomach. You leaned down and caught his mouth again, enjoying his taste, and the sound he made in the back of his throat when you shifted your hips, so his erection pressed against your core through the fabric still separating you. 

You set out to explore his body, but his hands on your hips stopped you. You gazed up at him and saw the look in his eyes, filled with tenderness and love. 

“No,” he murmured quietly, while pulling you up. “Not now…”

You smiled at him and pressed your lips against his. “Alright then,” you murmured back.

He tugged at your bottom lip with his teeth and you sagged against him. “Heero…”

“Shh…” His hand tangled in your hair, keeping you close. He firmly pressed his mouth against yours and teased your lips apart with his tongue.

You couldn’t get enough of his taste. He gave you more and more, and it still wasn’t enough. You became dizzy with need, your body trembled with it. You shifted when he tugged your panties down your hips, and you quickly pulled them off. When you turned back towards him, he was already taking off his boxers. You pressed your hand against his chest when you straddled him again, over his heart, feeling it’s steady beat against your fingers. His fingers entwined with yours and he brought your hand to his face, so he could kiss your fingers.

“I love you,” he murmured.

You bit your lip and shifted your hips, taking him in, inside your body. His back arched, and he threw back his head, exposing the skin of his throat. When he was fully sheathed, you leaned forward and trailed your lips over his throat, over his chin, to find his mouth once more. 

“I love you,” you whispered against his lips.

He smiled, his eyes warm. Emotions lodged in your throat, making it almost impossible for you to speak or even breathe. His hands settled on your hips, guiding you into a rhythm that was ancient as breath itself. Your eyes never left his, kept his gaze captive. You were helplessly lost in him, in the beauty of this joining. Tears clouded your vision and trailed down your cheeks, silver in the moonlight. Pleasure came, simple but sweet, and you sobbed as release rolled through your body with a gentle wave. Heero’s abdomen clenched, and a quiet groan escaped him. His hips came up, pressing tightly against you as his eyes drifted shut. You watched with a small smile as pleasure washed over his features. Beautiful Heero… all yours.

He tugged you down and you settled against him, carefully resting your head against his good shoulder. His hand tangled in your hair as he tucked your head under his chin, a deep, content sigh escaping him. 

You pressed a kiss against his neck. “Are you okay?” you asked him gently.

“Yeah…” He nuzzled your hair. 

You smiled, grateful. “Good.”

You were silent for a while, listening to the sound of him breathing. It was something so simple, but you could listen to it for hours. 

“If I ask you again…” he suddenly said. 

“Hmm?” You lifted your head and looked at him.

There was uncertainty in his eyes and you frowned. Was there something wrong?

“If I ask you again to marry me, would your answer be different?” he asked you.

You blinked, the frown disappearing. “What?”

His lips twitched into a small smile. “Do I need to repeat myself?”

“No…” you whispered. “No, of course not. But you never asked me. You suggested we’d get married.”

He chuckled and pulled you closer so he could kiss you. “You’re right. But would your answer be different?”

Why was he asking you this in the middle of the night? You shifted and sat up, rolling off of him. He turned over on his side, mindful of his wound, and gazed at you questioningly. “Well?”

You bit your lip. “I… I think so.”

“Good.” He gave you a warm and intimate look.

“I…” You took a deep breath. “I said no back then, because I didn’t want to marry you because of a pregnancy.”

He took your hand in his and squeezed it gently, understanding flashing in his eyes . “It wasn’t the right reason.”

“No.” You smiled at him. “But now, everything is different. Now, I would have a reason to marry you.”

“And that reason is?” he asked, warmth lacing his voice.

“I love you,” you said simply. 

He smiled, before turning around and opening the nightstand drawer. You frowned in confusion, but then he turned back towards you and showed you a black velvet box. Big enough for a ring… Oh God… Your eyes widened. “Heero…”

“I’ve waited years to ask you this,” he said softly. “Three years to be precise. I’ve… I knew you were the one for me when I first saw you.”

You struggled to breathe. Good God, he really was going to propose. Tears of happiness ran down your cheeks, dripping on the pillows. 

“I know you were reluctant to love me,” he said. “But you do now and that’s all that matters.” 

He opened the box and showed you a beautiful diamond encrusted ring. “Will you marry me, -Y/N-?”

You pressed your hand over your mouth as a sob escaped you and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I will marry you,” you whispered.

He pulled you closer and you sobbed into his chest, overcome with feelings. “Shh… it’s okay.”

“I know,” you sobbed. “I know.” You pulled back to look at him and wiped your cheeks. “I love you so much…”

He took the ring out of the box and reached for your right hand. “We’ll make a good family,” he said quietly, while putting the ring on your finger. “One like the one you came from.”

“Yes…” you murmured. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. You deserve it.”

He pressed a kiss against your lips. “You do just as much.”

-x-x-x-

You gritted your teeth as another contraction hit you. The pain was almost unbearable, to the point that you thought it would tear your body apart. You gasped for breath.

“Just one more push, - Y/N-,” the doctor said gently. “You’re doing great.”

“Come on,” Heero encouraged you, while gently squeezing your hand. “You can do it.”

You took a deep breath and clenched your teeth, your eyes squeezing shut with your effort. You focused all your attention on giving that final push, and fell back against the pillows with a moan as the pain subsided to a dull throbbing.

The newborn’s wails filled the room, and a tired smile played over your lips. 

“It’s a girl.” The doctor lowered the baby onto your chest and you could’t stop the tears that filled your vision. 

“Oh… oh, my.” 

Heero was instructed to cut the naval cord, and pushed your damp hair back from your forehead when he was done. He leaned in to press a kiss against your temple. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispered in your ear.

Together you admired the wailing baby, until the nurses had to take her away to check her. 

You smiled at Heero, and then gazed at the nurses, who were busy wrapping the baby into a blanket. “Go to them,” you told him.

His lips twitched into a small smile and he let go of your hand, stepping away from the bed. One of the nurses came to him and carefully handed him the baby. “Congratulations,” she told him.

Heero turned towards you, his daughter in his arms and grinned at you. Pride shone in his eyes, as well as love, so much love. You couldn’t help but smile back at him. The sight of him was so beautiful, it brought tears to your eyes once again. He made his way back to you and lowered the baby into your arms. 

“Oh Gosh,” you crooned, teary eyed. “She’s so beautiful.”

“She is,” he agreed warmly.

You pressed a kiss against your daughters forehead and smiled. “Beautiful Lisa,” you whispered. “You will be loved very much.”

Heero leaned in for a tender kiss and you sighed with happiness as his lips brushed over yours. 

“I’m so happy,” you whispered. 

He nuzzled your cheek. “I’m glad.”

“Now, I really can’t wait to marry you,” you said softly.

He grinned. “You wanted to wait.”

You pouted. But he was telling the truth. You had always wanted to wear your mother’s wedding dress on your own wedding day. And you wanted to look your best, so you had decided to wait with getting married, until after giving birth. And getting back in shape. 

You smiled at him and took his hand, your engagement ring flashing in the light. “It will be our day nonetheless.”

“Yes,” he said. 

He leaned in and brushed a kiss over Lisa’s head. The little girl stirred and whined, and Heero smiled warmly, before gently running a finger along her cheek. 

“Beautiful Lisa,” he agreed, his tone so warm with love it made your heart squeeze.

Tears rolled down your cheeks and you blinked, not even realizing that you had been crying. “I love you,” you whispered.

He met your gaze, and reached out to brush your tears away. 

“I love you too,” he murmured. “I love you both...”

**\- The End -**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this story! I hope you enjoyed it! ;)  
> Please leave a comment as I’d love to hear from you!


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